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Faf Du Plessis To Make 'Blockbuster' South Africa Return For T20 World Cup 2024?

image-lpsml4ixFaf du Plessis during an IPL 2023 training session for RCB (BCCI)

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis hinted at the possibility of making a return to international cricket ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup 2024. The 39-year-old has not played a single international for his country since he announced his Test retirement back in February 2021.

Faf du Plessis has since been serving as a T20 freelancer across some of the world’s most renowned leagues, including India’s lucrative IPL competition for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Faf opens lid on possible international return

Faf du Plessis, currently in the UAE for the 2023 Abu Dhabi T10 League, has said that he can still return to the international setup for South Africa and is already on speaking terms with some of his country’s cricket officials.

The batting veteran cited next year’s T20 World Cup in West Indies as one of the reasons for his potential return and claimed that he is currently figuring out the balance of the tournament. He said:

“I believe that I can return to international cricket as well. We have been speaking about this for the last couple of years. It's just figuring out the balance of the T20 World Cup next year.”

Faf du Plessis, a South African veteran of 69 Tests, 143 ODIs, and 50 T20I matches, has not been considered for national selection ever since he announced his retirement from the longest format of the game. Even though the cricketer made his Test exit to focus on the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, he was overlooked by the selection committee for the two high-profile ICC events.

The elegant right-handed batsman, however, keeps utilizing his talents to the fullest in elite T20 competitions. Leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in this year’s IPL 2023 season, the legendary Proteas batter stacked up 730 runs from just 14 innings to emerge as one of the leading run-getters of the competition, falling just behind ‘Orange Cap’ winner Shubman Gill.