T20 World Cup 2021: Cricket South Africa reveals the reason behind not considering Faf Du Plessis, Imran Tahir, and Chris Morris in the squad
Cricket South Africa (CSA) omitted some huge names from the 15-man squad for the World T20 2021. Apart from leaving out Janneman Malan, the selectors did not consider Faf Du Plessis, Imran Tahir, and Chris Morris either. The likes of Du Plessis, Tahir and Morris have performed consistently well in franchise cricket.
Selection convener Victor Mptisang cited the consistency in selection behind not considering Du Plessis. Mpitsang highlighted that they couldn't convince the former Proteas skipper to be consistently available for South Africa.
"Faf has got a wonderful record but we wanted to be consistent in selection and this is the group of players we have gone with. When you're working with free agents, you have to come together that works for both the team and the free agents, they're obviously attracted to various leagues and then the squad has its own requirements on how they build towards a World Cup," Mpitsang said as quoted by News24.
But the former Proteas captain has been in incredible form in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League. The right-handed batsman has 187 runs under his belt in seven matches, striking at 138.51 with a best of 120*.
Chris Morris had frequently made himself unavailable to play for South Africa: CSA director
Meanwhile, all-rounder Chris Morris has faced accusations from CSA director Graeme Smith. Smith remarked they didn't consider Morris since he has hardly agreed to play for South Africa in recent times.
"Outside that Chris made himself unavailable. Most of our engagements with Chris through his agent has said that he is unavailable for international cricket."
In contrast, the former South African captain claimed Imran Tahir has been in form, but they chose to place faith in the rest of the spinners.
"Imran has had a great run and is still successful but we were very confident in the current crop of spinners we are developing, we felt that they deserved the opportunity."
Chris Morris justified his hefty price tag of INR 16.25 crores for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021. The 33-year old ended the first phase of the tournament with 14 wickets in seven games at 16. With the bat, he maintained a strike rate of 154.84.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir has also been impressive for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the ongoing edition of the CPL. The 42-year old has taken 11 wickets in eight games at 18.63 apiece, conceding 6.40 per over. Tahir has made himself available for South Africa in the T20s and retired from the other two formats.