Kolpak Rule hurting South African Cricket, says Faf du Plessis
South African Test Skipper Faf du Plessis believes that the Kolpak rule that lures South African players to retire from the national team and play in England is hurting Protea cricket. Du Plessis feels that they missed out on their best players due to this and he hopes things improve after Brexit.
South Africa suffered a humiliating whitewash at the hands of India as they were battered 3-0. They lacked in all three departments and had no answer for the sheer quality on display, especially from the Indian pacers on pitches that generally were suitable for batting. Faf du Plessis believes that the Kolpak rule has led to the South Africans losing many of their quality players like Kyle Abbott, Riley Russouw, and Duanne Olivier is hurting them badly, exposing the inexperience in their playing eleven. He also pointed out the absence of off-spinner Simon Harmer, whose excellent performances for Essex helped them in winning the County Championship.
“It’s sad for South African cricket not to have the option of their best players. [Off-spinner] Simon Harmer has had an unbelievable season. And it would be great for South Africa to be in a position where they could go, ‘He’s done well overseas. Let’s bring him on tour with us,” he further added.
It is sometimes difficult to understand whether it is the lack of opportunities in the national team or the greed for extra money that lures these players to sign the Kolpak deal. Du Plessis believes that it significantly reduces the resources that South Africa has to succeed in international cricket under different conditions.
“You are missing out on all your best players and your talent pool is all of a sudden a lot smaller. So that’s something that we’ve tried to identify to stop. But it’s been very difficult to stop,” he said.
Du Plessis also pointed out that veterans like Hashim Amla who have retired from the game, have opted to sign the Kolpak deal and play in England, rather than playing domestic cricket in South Africa. The amount of experience that Amla could have given to the youngsters would have been invaluable. Same goes as far as Morne Morkel is concerned. Amla has signed for Surrey.
“Even the guys going there post international cricket, like Hashim Amla, those guys, they won’t be playing domestic cricket back home. So you lose all of that experience, which would have helped the young guys so much," he asserted.
Du Plessis himself had the privilege to play under greats like Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, etc, and felt that he got the much-needed experience from them and it is extremely necessary for anyone who wants to succeed at the highest level to learn from a seasoned pro.
“Playing with Hashim Amla is the greatest learning curve that you can get. Playing with Dale Steyn, playing with AB de Villiers, all those guys...so it’s about making sure that you can bridge that gap and finding ways to do it," he said.
With Brexit, it could mean that post-2021, the Kolpak deal players could also play for their country, something which du Plessis is hoping to happen so that South African cricket can stand again as one of the best touring sides in the world that it once was.
“So maybe, post-Brexit, guys will still go and play there, but you can still pick them for your country. Brexit will be one thing that will stop obviously the Kolpak players. So yes that would benefit SA cricket tremendous amounts,” du Plessis concluded.
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