Faf du Plessis to call time on T20I career after the 2020 ICC World T20

The 36-year-old South African skipper stated that the marquee event to be held in Australia could be his last International assignment.

The earnest right-hander has been a prolific T20I batsman for his country | Getty

South African skipper Faf du Plessis has announced that he'll retire from International T20s at the end of the 2020 ICC World T20, to be held in Australia in two years' time.

Du Plessis, 36, confirmed the development ahead of the standalone T20I at Gold Coast against Australia on Saturday, November 17, and said, "The T20 World Cup is in Australia and that's not too far away, so hopefully we'll be back for that and that will probably be my last international tour I would think."

Specifically on T20I, as a concept, Du Plessis was asked immediately whether, with various domestic T20 leagues, the WT20 has become the only platform and time when countries field their best possible team. He replied, "From our perspective, T20 cricket for us over the last two or three years has been a case of bringing in the young guys, giving them an opportunity, so we never really play our strongest XI, which isn't great for the international game," before relating the case with another leading sport in the world, "Football (has) a situation where it's playing for your clubs and then there's an international tournament."

"In my opinion, that's a good place for T20 cricket to be in, because you shouldn't be trying to compete with the leagues because they are so strong at the moment," he warned and continued, "And I can see the same with other teams – it's almost never their strongest teams, and fans come to watch the best players play."

"That's where I see the game moving forward, but the T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to … that will probably be the last tournament for me," he reiterated.

South Africa won the three-match ODI series, 2-1, and are now determined to finish off the limited overs tour on a high.

(Inputs from AFP)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 16 Nov, 2018

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