SA going the England way, as du Plessis becomes T20 captain

England was the first team in international cricket to try and experiment with the ‘three captains theory’ when they tried it with Strauss, Cook and Broad as captains in Tests, ODIs and T20s, respectively. Now, it seems like South Africa are following in their footsteps, by appointing Faf du Plessis as full-time Twenty20 captain. The batsman will take charge of the side during the T20 leg of the ongoing Pakistan series, after AB de Villiers requested to stand down from the role. The development means that South Africa will have a different captain for each format, with Graeme Smith leading the Test side, de Villiers the ODI team and du Plessis the T20 side.

Du Plessis had captained the side earlier during the T20 series against New Zealand at home, after de Villiers cited the need for rest because of his workload, which includes wicket-keeping duties as well.

ODI squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Twenty20 squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Chris Morris, Justin Ontong, Robbie Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Lonwabo Tsotsobe