- Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen is optimistic that whoever the selectors pick as Test skipper will do a "great job".
- The Proteas have yet to name a permanent Test captain since Faf du Plessis stepped down.
- Van der Dussen stated that he would like to convert his starts into big milestones ahead of the England series.
Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen says that whoever the selectors pick as Test skipper will be the best man for the job.
Van der Dussen is one among many speculated candidates for the Test captaincy after batsman Faf du Plessis stepped down in February.
Director of cricket Graeme Smith, national selector Victor Mpitsang and Proteas coach Mark Boucher have yet to select a Test captain.
Smith confirmed that T20 and ODI skipper Quinton de Kock was ruled out of the running for the role.
30-year-old Van der Dussen has only played 4 Tests, 21 ODIs and 15 T20s for the Proteas to date but his maturity and skill has made him a possible contender.
Van der Dussen was very diplomatic when asked about a possible Test captaincy nod during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
"(Applying for captaincy) isn't something where you need to hand your CV in. I think there are a few candidates and whoever takes over will do a great job and I doubt the team will have any trouble following them," said Van der Dussen.
"I've seen people write that I'm one of the candidates, it isn't something I have to talk about. Since I've started at the Proteas, I feel like I've been living my life in a certain way and if people see that as leadership and if the guys want to follow me on where I'm going and thinking then it's a positive.
"If you're captain or not, you don't need a title to be a leader. I think whoever takes over will be the right man."
Van der Dussen has yet to score a century for the Proteas despite having come close several times with a 98 against England in a losing cause Test match at the Wanderers.
The Proteas batsman stated that he is aiming to get over the line and convert his starts ahead of the limited-overs series against England.
"It's definitely a goal to perform and get a 100... I've got three 90s and an 80 for the Proteas so far so (getting a hundred) is something that I want to tick off and hopefully when I can get the chance to come close again, I can take it over the line," said Van der Dussen.
"I would love to bat at number three but you have to be realistic, a guy like Faf will bat at three and he is world-class. But four is probably the position that I'll be looking at.
"I've been working really hard to sort out my weaknesses. Mark Boucher has been brilliant with that in terms of the winter and communicating areas where he wants me to improve. I've taken that onboard and worked really hard on that with my batting coach at the Lions, Justin Sammons," continued Van der Dussen.
"I'm at a place where I feel like I've addressed a lot of those areas so I'm feeling really good overall in terms of technique and gameplan wise, I'm in a good place."
The first T20 is scheduled to get underway at Newlands on Friday (18:00).
Proteas squad:
Quinton de Kock (captain, Titans), Temba Bavuma (Lions), Junior Dala (Titans), Faf du Plessis (Titans), Bjorn Fortuin (Lions), Beuran Hendricks (Lions), Reeza Hendricks (Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), George Linde (Cape Cobras), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Janneman Malan (Cape Cobras), David Miller (Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (Lions), Kagiso Rabada (Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), Lutho Sipamla (Lions), Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors), Glenton Stuurman (Warriors), Pite van Biljon (Knights), Rassie van der Dussen (Lions), Kyle Verreynne (Cape Cobras)