Faf du Plessis Announces Retirement From Test Cricket
Faf Du Plessis played 69 Tests, scoring 4163 runs at an average of 40.02.
South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis, on Wednesday, announced his retirement from Test cricket. The 36-year-old made the announcement a few days after Australia’s tour of South Africa was shelved because of the ongoing covid-19 situation in South Africa.
The 36-year-old made the announcement through a statement on his Instagram page.
“It has been a year of refinement in the fire for us all. Uncertain were the times but they brought clarity for me in many aspects. My heart is clear and time is right to walk into a new chapter,” du Plessis posted.
“It has been an honour to play for my country in all formats of the game but the time has come for me to retire from Test cricket.”
Du Plessis said his focus now shifts to T20 cricket but ODIs will also remain a part of his plans.
“The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be.
“I strongly believe I have a lot to offer to the Proteas in this format. This does mean that ODI cricket is no longer in the plans, I am just making T20 cricket priority in the short-term,” he said.
The 36-year-old Du Plessis played 69 Tests and scored 4163 runs at an average of 40.02 with 10 centuries and 21 half-centuries. He played his last match in the purest format of the game against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. He had an incredibly poor outing with the bat in Pakistan, registering scores of 10, 23, 17 and 5. He also led in 36 Tests after taking over the captaincy from AB de Villiers in 2016.
