• Proteas all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo has played over 80 games for his country but has still not lived up to his fullest potential.
• Phehlukwayo is eager to work his way into the Test team, a format where he has only played 4 matches for South Africa
• Despite performing more with the ball than the bat, Phehlukwayo wants to be known as a genuine all-rounder.

Andile Phehlukwayo has come a long way since first entering the international scene as a 20-year-old back in 2016.

Since then, he has quietly gone about notching up 58 ODIs, 27 T20Is and 4 Tests for South Africa while he also has World Cup (2019) and Champions Trophy (2017) campaigns under his belt.

It is an impressive resume for a man so young, but there has always seemed to be an expectation that Phehlukwayo should be delivering more on the international stage. 

South African cricket has historically been blessed in the all-rounder department with the likes of Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener considered greats in these parts.

While it is unfair to compare Phehlukwayo to either of the legends above, the 24-year-old has two very important factors on his side: ambition and time.

It's been three months since the Proteas have played after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc with the cricketing calendar and a stay-at-home order has seen the bustling lives of these professional cricketers come to a complete standstill.

For Phehlukwayo, it has been a time for introspection. 

"One of my biggest motivations is to try and get better and stronger," Phehlukwayo told Sport24 in a Zoom interview on Thursday.

"If I can get 10% or 5% better, it'll go a long way and it'll also prolong my career. This lockdown has been the perfect opportunity to work on myself, to work on my fitness and on things outside of cricket."

One aspect that he speaks passionately about is his Test career - a format where Phehlukwayo has slipped behind Dwaine Pretorius in the Proteas pecking order.

Astute cricket fans will remember that when Phehlukwayo made his Test debut in 2017, he only had 20-something first-class games to his name.

It was a big call from the Proteas' selectors and placed a massive spotlight on the young Phehlukwayo. 

After four caps where he didn't quite deliver, scoring 19 runs and taking 11 wickets, Phehlukwayo hasn't played a Test match since January 2018.

He says that while he hasn't made it work on the Test side, he still harbours hopes of playing red-ball cricket for the Proteas.

"I predominantly play white-ball cricket and there's the T20 World Cup coming up, so I've been mainly focussed on trying to perform in the white-ball teams and to be consistent," said Phehlukwayo. 

"The Test team is definitely a space where I want to be. I want to challenge myself, I want to compete in that space for as long as possible or for long as the team needs me.

"I want to make an impact in the Test arena; it's the biggest and hardest place to play. For any cricketer, if you're playing Test cricket, it's the ultimate game. I have 4 Tests matches. If I could possibly go to 100, that'll be nice."

So, what makes Phehlukwayo different? 

Despite not posing the threat of pace, the medium-pacer manages to pick up wickets at key intervals.

When it comes to batting, Phehlukwayo is fearless whenever he approaches the crease, but has struggled to form part of key partnerships or make substantial contributions.

That has contributed to Phehlukwayo being viewed predominantly as a bowling all-rounder, but he remains convinced that he falls under the "genuine all-rounder" tag despite his inconsistency with the bat.

"Personally I feel like I am a genuine all-rounder. I probably need to give myself a better opportunity with the bat at times, but that also comes with age," he said. 

"As a young cricketer coming in, your bowling always outshines your batting and the older you get you'll see the batting starting to pick up."

Looking back at the first four years of his career, Phehlukwayo acknowledges that there are certain things that he could have done better.

"We're not perfect as cricketers and just to be blessed with over 50 games for my country at this age is fantastic. I need to look at that and be grateful," he said.

"Yes, there's a lot of things that I can work on and am still working on, but I also need to allow for time to take its place and not rush things."

Perhaps, in the years to come, we will find ourselves looking at a young Proteas all-rounder prospect and say, "Will he be the next Andile Phehlukwayo?"