Faf du Plessis announces retirement from Test cricket

South Africa cricketer Faf du Plessis has announced his retirement from Test cricket. He last played in the format against Pakistan earlier this month in Rawalpindi. The Proteas went down 0-2 in the two-match series. The team was due to play against Australia at home, the series which got postponed at the last moment due to Cricket Australia’s concern over the COVID-19 situation in South Africa.

Faf du Plessis made his Test debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2012 and famously saved the match for South Africa. He had scored 78 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten 110 in the second batting out the fifth day. He played out a mammoth 376 balls during his stubborn and many had predicted for him to go a long way in his career then itself.

Overall, the 36-year-old played 69 Test matches amassing 4163 runs at an average of 40.02 with the highest score of 199. During his illustrious career in the whites, the veteran cricketer smacked 10 centuries and 21 fifties.

The time is right to walk into a new chapter, says Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis took to Instagram to confirm his retirement announcement and also posted a statement in which he mentioned that it was an honour to play for his country over all these years to play in the whites. He is now willing to shift his focus to the T20 format with two World Cups to be played in the next two years.

“My heart is clear and the time is right to walk into a new chapter. 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,” a part of his statement read. Faf du Plessis also stated that he will have a conversation with Cricket South Africa (CSA) regarding his future.

“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 will be in conversation with CSA over the next couple of months on what the future might look like for me over the next year to find a solution that works for both of us,” he further said in a statement.

Here’s his Instagram post:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Faf du plessis (@fafdup)