Former South African captain Faf du Plessis announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday.
“My heart is clear and the time is right to walk into a new chapter,” the South African batsman wrote in a post on Instagram, where he shared a statement on his decision.
Du Plessis said that he is shifting his focus to the shorter format of the game, keeping the two T20 World Cups which would take place in the next two years.
“It has been an honour to play for my country in all the formats of the game, but the time has come for me to retire from Test cricket,” he wrote in his statement.
“If someone had told me 15 years ago, that I would play 69 Test matches for South Africa and captained the side, I wouldn’t have believed them. I stand in a place of utmost gratitude for a Test career full of blessings bestowed on me,” he added.
“The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be,” wrote the former South African captain.
Faf du Plessis has represented South Africa in 69 Tests and has scored 4163 runs with an average of 40.02.
He has also scored 10 centuries and registered his highest score of 199 in 2020 against Sri Lanka.
Making his Test debut against Australian in Adelaide in 2012, he scored a memorable 78 in the first innings and followed it with a maiden Test century in the second.
His final Test was against Pakistan in Rawalpindi earlier this month.
