NEWS
Follow UsWe might see Faf du Plessis don South African colors again. The possibility has emerged after Cricket South Africa changed their stance and decided to engage in conversations with freelance players ahead of announcing the new central contract later this month. According to ESPNcricinfo, South Africa’s new white-ball coach Rob Walter and du Plessis have discussed the possibility of making a return to the white-ball set-up.
"We have always been open to talks with our freelance players and Rob is very much interested in resuming those conversations," Enoch Nkwe, CSA's Director of Cricket said. "In terms of contracting, us and SACA (the South African Cricketers' Association) are engaging in that aspect to ensure that we remain proactive because the reality is that a lot is evolving in our cricketing landscape.
"We've got to try our utmost best to be on the front foot. A lot of players are still committed to all three formats but we have some players who are only white ball and some are only red ball. What we foresee in the near future, maybe even the next 12 months, is that we might even go more specifically to T20, ODI, and Test contracts. Those are some of the things that we're actually looking at."
Faf du Plessis retired from Test cricket in February 2021 but had announced that he was available for white-ball cricket. But with Cricket South Africa opposing the idea of having freelance players in the squad, du Plessis was not picked for any series including two World Cups that went in between.
Nkwe further revealed that du Plessis had a discussion with the management regarding making a comeback for both T20I World Cups but couldn’t come to an agreement with the selection panel at the time.
"There were conversations before the World Cup with the selection panel and the coach and they concluded (without a solution)," Nkwe said. "From a CSA point of view, we are happy to engage and see how we can find the best way forward."
