Du Plessis now has more time to help young batters: Van der Dussen

With the pressure of captaincy off his shoulders, South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis could help impart his wisdom to youngsters in the team.

Published : May 16, 2020 17:02 IST , Johannesburg

Du Plessis said he still misses captaincy but now forsees himself as a mentor for the younger generation.
Du Plessis said he still misses captaincy but now forsees himself as a mentor for the younger generation.
lightbox-info

Du Plessis said he still misses captaincy but now forsees himself as a mentor for the younger generation.

South African batsman Rassie Van der Dussen feels senior teammate Faf du Plessis will now have more time to share his “wealth of wisdom” with the youngsters, having stepped down from captaincy.

Du Plessis had resigned as South Africa’s Test and T20 captian in February.

“Captaincy is an awesome responsibility, but you carry so much on your shoulders. You get scrutinised and it always comes back to the captain and you’ve got to deal with that as well as the praise that you get,” Van der Dussen told Sport24.

“Maybe that load off Faf’s shoulders, not that he ever struggled to carry it, might open him up a bit more to influence young batters coming in where maybe in the past he just didn’t have enough time to attend to those things.

“He has a wealth of wisdom that young batters can feed off and that I have fed off in the last 18 months,” added the 31-year-old, who had entered the national team under Du Plessis’ leadership.

READ: Who is the best Test cricket captain of them all?

Talking about the impact that Du Plessis had on him when he made his debut, Van der Dussen said: “Faf was a big one for me when I started, but all of the senior guys made me feel really at home. Faf was definitely someone that I went to for advice.

“Faf and myself are not dissimilar players. I can relate to what he did in his game and his mental strength and everything that goes with that,” said the batsman, who made his Test debut against England in December.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment