Faf du Plessis has been a fixture in professional cricket for nearly three decades, with a career dating back to December 9, 1996, when he played for a Northern Transvaal under-13 team in Pretoria. Since his first South Africa under-19 international in August 2003, he has evolved into a global cricket icon, having played 1,092 matches across various formats. In the period since March 2023, he has featured in 252 matches for 15 teams across 10 countries.
However, the release of the Joburg Super Kings (JSK) roster for the upcoming SA20 season has sparked speculation regarding his future. Du Plessis, who has been synonymous with the franchise, is absent from the list of twelve names released. Having played in 40 of the team's 44 matches to date, his exclusion has prompted many to ask if the 42-year-old's time in the tournament has concluded, though JSK still holds a wildcard spot.
Du Plessis' journey began as a leg-spinner before he blossomed into a premier batter. Yet Faf wasn’t always Faf. Once he was a decentish leg spinner, a whippersnapper in the field and the poor person’s AB de Villiers. He was there and thereabouts without being bound for what he became. His international career hit a turning point on November 24, 2012, during the second Test in Adelaide. After a debut incident involving a lost boot, he cemented his reputation as "Faf the magic dragon" by batting for nearly eight hours to score an unbeaten 110, securing a series win against Australia. This performance earned him a reputation for resilience, though it also drew the ire of Australian fans and media, which intensified during the 2016 "Mintgate" ball-tampering controversy. Ostensibly, Du Plessis had earned this treatment by being caught on camera during the Hobart Test using his fingers to apply saliva to the ball. There was nothing wrong with that in those pre-Covid days. Except that he had fetched the saliva from a mouth that hid a mint. He was ball-tampering, plain and simple.
Beyond his batting, Du Plessis served as a highly articulate captain for South Africa, leading the side in 36 Tests, 39 ODIs, and 37 T20Is, alongside leading an ICC World XI in 2017. His absence from the SA20 list, alongside players like Rassie van der Dussen and Imran Tahir, remains a significant talking point. Now there might be no more. Maybe he angered the SA20 franchise owners — all of them IPL heavyweights — by preferring the PSL to taking his chances at the auction for this year’s edition of the Indian mother and father of all T20 tournaments. Maybe he’s finally tired of another few weeks of living out of a suitcase in a succession of hotels, however luxurious they might be. Maybe he is just too old for all this.
