SA vs ENG | Quinton de Kock to lead South Africa in ODIs; Faf du Plessis left out
South Africa have named keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock as their skipper for the ODI series against England, leaving out regular skipper Faf du Plessis. Meanwhile, five uncapped players - Lutho Sipamla, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Janneman Malan and Kyle Verreynne - have been named in the squad.
A day after South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis hinted about his Test retirement, he has been left out of the 15 member squad named for the three-match ODI series against England. Keeper batsman Quinton de Kock will be filling in the skipperâs shoes in his stead for the home series.
It is, however, being reported that Cricket South Africa (CSA) actually rested du Plessis, who seems to have worn out due to mounting pressure of his poor run of form in Test cricket. The veteran batsman, who was in top form last year averaging a whopping 67 in ODIs, along with pacer Kagiso Rabada, were notable omissions from the squad which included five uncapped players - Lutho Sipamla, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Janneman Malan and Kyle Verreynne.
CSA Acting Director of Cricket Graeme Smith hailed de Kockâs unique outlook and tactical brilliance as the reason of putting him at the helm of the young side. Smith also believes that the new role would only lead to him growing stature.
âWe all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become. Over the years, we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicket-keeper batsmen in the world. He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street smart,â Cricbuzz quoted Smith as saying.
âWe are confident that the new leadership role will bring out the best in him as a cricketer and that he can take the team forward into the future and produce results that South Africans the world over can be very proud of. We wish him the very best in this new role and look forward to watching him make his mark in this series against the World Cup Champions."