T20 World Cup 2021: Graeme Smith opens up on Faf du Plessis’ omission from the squad

The T20 World Cup is all set to kick off on October 17 in the UAE and countries are announcing their T20 WC squad one after the another. Cricket South Africa (CSA) also announced their 15-member squad on September 09, 2021, which will be led by Temba Bavuma. However, what drew the attention of fans and experts was the omission of experienced Protea Faf du Plessis from the squad.

The squad also didn’t include Chris Morris. Opening up on the squad, CSA Director Graeme Smith said their announced side was ‘a new group of players with new heroes to be made,’ Smith stated that conversations were done with Du Plessis but they were not able to reach an agreement with him. Since the former skipper is no longer contracted to CSA, he is regarded as ‘free-agent.’

“When you are working with free agents you have to come together. You have to find that balance that works for both the team and the free agents. With Faf in particular we struggled to find that balance,” said Graeme Smith as quoted by News 18.

Faf du Plessis expressed his keenness to be part of next two T20 World Cups

It has to be noted, Du Plessis retired from the longest format of the game last year only but he made it clear that he is available for white-ball cricket. He even showed his keenness to be part of the next two T20 World Cups but seems things couldn’t get materialized before the announcement of the squad. He confirmed to AFP before the squad announcement that he remains available for the high-profile event.

Talking about Du Plessis, he remains one of the most demanded propositions in the T20 leagues around the world. He is a vital member of MS Dhoni-led CSK and recently rocked a CPL match by hitting 120 off 60 balls against St Kitts & Nevis.

South Africa squad for T20 WC: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.