I don't expect AB de Villiers to come back into the Test team: Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis believes it is time for the South African Test team to come out of the AB de Villiers shadow. Some fast paced campaigns are on with a bid to get the versatile batsman back after the visitors suffered a 3-1 series loss to England. South Africa’s batting looked in shambles and they managed to get past the 300 mark only thrice in eight attempts. The Proteas also tried to fill in de Villiers’ no.4 spot with three different batsmen.

A veteran of 106 Tests, AB de Villiers didn’t turn out against New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka due to the operation, he expressed his wish to play in the 2019 World Cup, hence taking a move to play longer in the shorter format of the game. He hasn’t officially retired from Tests, giving a ray of hope to his fans, considering the South African batting was left wanted in the recent times. Only two centuries in seven Test matches rings a panic alarm in the African dressing room.

Move past AB de Villiers

“I would love AB to play – we all know how good he is and we missed him, but we’ve spent too much time talking about when he is going to come back,” said du Plessis after England wrapped up the fourth Test by 177 runs. “The hope of him coming back is something we need to move past, we need to find someone else who fulfil that role. If AB comes back it’s a huge bonus but I don’t expect him to come back into the Test team.”

After facing a series defeat in T20Is in England at the end of June, de Villiers said that he would sit down with Cricket South Africa in August to work out his future plans. “There are quite a few things that are changing in South African cricket at the moment, quite a few things we need to wait for,” he said. “I don’t even think it’s in my hands what is going to happen. I will wait until the final decision on the coach and things like that are made, then I can also have a chat to CSA, to see where I am going to fit in.”