Faf du Plessis Steps Down as South Africa Captain Across Formats

Faf du Plessis announced on Monday (February 17) that he will be stepping down from his role as captain of South Africa across all formats effective immediately.

“In a perfect world I would have loved to lead the team in the Tests for the rest of the season as well as the T20 World Cup. But sometimes the most important attribute of a leader is to be selfless," du Plessis said in a statement.

“I am healthy, fit, energised and motivated and certainly see myself playing an important role in the squad for as long as I continue putting in winning performances for the team.

“The last few weeks of rest away from the game have given me a lot of perspective on the great privilege and honour I have had in representing and leading my country in the three formats of this wonderful game.

It has been the greatest honour of my life to lead my country. Read my full statement here: https://t.co/QVRrvQGLmO pic.twitter.com/d5qH9pQJ9d

— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) February 17, 2020

"It has been a rewarding, sometimes tough and other times a lonely road, but I would not replace the experience for anything, because it has made me the man that I am proud to be today.”

Du Plessis has captained South Africa in a total of 112 international matches across all three formats since December 2012 when he led South Africa for the very first time against New Zealand in a T20I series.

The hosts won that three-match contest 2-1. Since then, he has scored 5101 runs in all formats as captain amassing 11 centuries and 28 half-centuries.

He led the Proteas in several famous victories, including the team’s five-nil inbound ODI series and 2-1 outbound Test series victories against Australia in 2016.