In-form Faf would be a great World Cup pick

Whenever a world-class player retires from any sport, people will question whether the timing is right. This often sees critics questioning why a player has taken so long to retire, while on the flip side, some will pick apart whether a player has prematurely left the game.

It is definitely the case of the latter for Faf du Plessis, with the former-South African batsman making his last appearance for South Africa in a Test match against Pakistan in 2021.

Du Plessis’ career saw him star across all three formats of the game, but he was at his very best in the shorter formats of the game – 12 centuries in ODI cricket came with an average of 47.47 and he also notched 10 half-centuries in T20 cricket with an average of 35.53.

Clearly, Du Plessis was a real talent with the bat for his country. While he was more inclined to smoke a bowler on his way to quickfire scores, he did also have the ability to grind out scores when necessary too.

Since his retirement, the batsman probably thought that domestic cricket would be the height of his ambition. After all, retiring from the international game does not necessarily mean a player is no longer good enough to play the game at club level.

However, instead of slowly disappearing into the twilight of his career, Du Plessis has been shining spotlights on his exploits. After eight innings in the South African T20 league, Du Plessis has been a dream for top runscorer backer with bookmakers.

He has notched up 369 runs at an average of 52.71, with one century and two 50s, and he currently tops the run scoring charts in the competition.

In conjunction with this, he has been scoring runs quickly. A strike rate of 148.79 has bettered that of Jos Buttler (127.27) in the tournament. He has also scored a huge proportion of his runs via 4s (36) and 6s (14), notching 228 runs by hitting or clearing the ropes.

His ability to score runs quickly and consistently has seen Du Plessis’ name brought back into contention for a spot in the national team, but should he return to the side?

The argument against it will concern the longevity of a return for Du Plessis. At 38, even Du Plessis will struggle to hold back the effects of time for much longer. This simply means that if he were to play for a year or two in the national side, this could stop a new player with 10+ years left in their careers from appearing. This halts the progression of South African cricket for another year or two.

Of course, bringing a world-class talent such as Du Plessis into the side has many positives too. While it would prevent another player from appearing in his place, if South African cricket is picking on form, then Du Plessis should play.

His experience, which has seen him play 143 ODIs and 50 T20s for the national side, would also be huge, especially in the World Cup at the end of 2023. The fact he has ‘been there and done that’ in the biggest games means he can provide invaluable experience to those around him.

While we assume it would be incredibly unlikely for Du Plessis to replace Temba Bavuma as captain, he could provide vital input and council to Bavuma both on and off the pitch. To have another experienced player Bavuma can trust on the pitch at a major tournament could be crucial.

Ultimately, the only real downside is that Du Plessis is not the pick for the long run. However, if South Africa wants to seriously challenge in the World Cup at the end of the year, would a return to the side for Du Plessis be such a bad thing? He would have to find a way to take his form from the T20 game into the 50- over format but, for a player such as Du Plessis, we do not see that being a problem.