With a packed summer awaiting them, South Africa will be bolstered by the return of AB de Villiers. But, the bigger question is whether he walks back into the Test team as skipper given the fact that Faf du Plessis had led them to a 2-1 series victory in Australia.
According to Dale Steyn, there cannot be any room for discussion on the matter as de Villiers has done enough to ‘earn that spot’. Interestingly, his opinion is in sharp contrast to that of former skipper Graeme Smith who wants the dynamic batsman to solely focus on getting back to full fitness.
At the sidelines of an exhibition game between South Africa’s cricket and rugby teams in Cape Town, Steyn quipped, “I think so, he (de Villiers) is the captain. He is definitely the captain. I know Faf has done really well for us right now, but AB is the captain. He has earned that spot. He has played for a long time, and he said he wants to do it and he got the opportunity to. Unfortunately, he got injured, but he is the man at the end of the day.”
The experienced speedster added, “When AB steps back into the side, there should be almost no question about it. I know there have been eyebrows raised because Faf has done well. But there should never be any question about who the real captain is or who the captain is, and he should just step back into it and continue what Faf has already started.”
At the conclusion of the Hobart Test which gave them the series, South Africa’s convener of selectors Linda Zondi had publicly backed de Villiers to return as captain whilst reiterating that du Plessis was just a stopgap option.
The 32-year old de Villiers‘ previous appearance in whites had come during the home series against England earlier this year. He suffered an elbow injury during the Caribbean Premier League and subsequently underwent a surgery in September.
The right-hander will play a few domestic T20s alongside pacer Morne Morkel in a bid to prove his match fitness. As for Steyn himself, the recuperation from a broken shoulder is likely to extend his unavailability beyond the current season.
Graeme Smith disagrees with Steyn’s viewpoint
Meanwhile, Smith wishes to see De Villiers make a smooth comeback to Test cricket and believes split captaincy is the way forward. Having led the Proteas in all three formats for a very long time, the 35-year old would know a thing or two about the rigours of leading an international team.
The iconic skipper said, “The most important thing for AB now is just to focus on getting back and fit and playing cricket. I don't think he should even engage in thinking about that (captaincy) because he can't captain from the sidelines. Having had an elbow injury, it's not an easy thing to recover from.
“It takes time, getting those tendons strong and all those muscles. That's your primary arm that you use when you bat, he should focus on that. The sooner we can get him playing cricket for South Africa, the better.”
He insisted, “It's very difficult to captain all three formats and the T20 format is a difficult one because you don't play a huge amount of cricket. So is that the right time to rest your captain, with the workloads he is going to have in one-day and Test cricket?”
South Africa are set to host Sri Lanka for a 3-Test series with the first of those matches beginning on Boxing Day in Port Elizabeth. Following 3 T20Is and 5 ODIs, they are scheduled to visit New Zealand for a tour comprising of 1 T20I, 5 ODIs and 3 Tests.
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