Du Plessis to captain Test side on India tour

Du Plessis’ tenure came under a cloud when CSA said they might consider an interim captain to lead the Indian touring party, following a massive restructuring of the management, which saw the departure of head coach Ottis Gibson and the rest of his staff.

However, Corrie van Zyl, CSA’s acting director of cricket, confirmed that du Plessis’ place as captain of the red-ball team remains secure as of now. "Faf will be the captain of the Test team and then we will talk about the white-ball strategy to 2023 and how that will affect decision-making," van Zyl said on Tuesday, 6 August.

"It's important to look forward to 2023 as well. We need a strategy to 2023, so in terms of appointing the captain we will look at how we approach that. We are having a selection meeting in the next day and a half to confirm that."

As for du Plessis, he was glad to continue in his role for the moment, but was wary and calculative of his long-term future, as both player and leader. "I'm 35, I've probably got two or three years left, hopefully more. You can't plan for that kind of thing, you have to try and plan for what every year looks like – and those are what the conversations with CSA will have to be," du Plessis said after CSA's awards ceremony, where he was named Men’s Cricketer of the Year. "What does year one look like? Year two? And then, if there is a year three, what does that look like?

"Even though I was disappointed after the World Cup, it is still special to play for this team. I wasn't thinking about quitting, it's about weighing up what the next year looks like in terms of all three formats. It's a lot of time away playing cricket. As you get older, you have to start looking at other tournaments. That's the balancing act that would need to happen."

South Africa visit India for three T20Is, followed by as many Tests. The first T20I takes place on 15 September in Dharamsala. The van Zyl-led interim selection committee will get down to discuss the team for the tour this week.