Idea of single-format contracts being floated, door still open for Faf du Plessi

A comeback to international cricket is on cards for South African batter Faf Du Plessis who continues to hold conversations about his return to the side with new whiteball coach Rob WalterAs per ESPNCricinfo Walter and Du Plessis discussed the possibility of the former skippers return but it has been made difficult due to scheduling and contract challenges With Cricket South Africa CSA set to announce new central contracts later in March and idea of singleformat contracts being floated Plessis could make his way back into the side especially with ICC T20 World Cup set to take place next yearWe have always been open to talks with our freelance players and Rob is very much interested in resuming those conversations Enoch Nkwe CSAs Director of Cricket said as quoted by ESPNCricinfoIn terms of contracting us and SACA the South African Cricketers Association are engaging in that aspect to ensure that we remain proactive because the reality is that a lot is evolving in our cricketing landscapeWe have got to try our utmost best to be on the front foot A lot of players are still committed to all three formats but we have some players who are only white ball and some only red ball What we foresee in the near future maybe even the next 12 months is that we might even go more specifically to T20 ODI and Test contracts Those are some of the things that we are actually looking at added NkweAlso readMS Dhoni is the best guy to learn from Faf du PlessisDu Plessis brought the curtains down on his Test career in February 2021 but kept himself available for selection in both whiteball formats He was however not picked up in any bilateral series and even major ICC tournaments like T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022Since his final Test he has played Pakistan Super League PSL Bangladesh Premier League BPL IPL Big Bash League BBL Caribbean Premier League and SA20 He has scored 2747 runs in 90 innings in such leagues at an average of 3391 He has also hit four of his five T20I tons across these leaguesNkwe also confirmed that the batter was in talks with CSA to make comeback for both T20 World Cups but the selection panel consisting of Victor Mpitsang and Patrick Moroney could not reach an agreement with Du PlessisThere were conversations before the World Cup with the selection panel and the coach and they concluded without a solution From a CSA point of view we are happy to engage and see how we can find the best way forward said NkweBoth selectors were sacked at the end of head coach Mark Bouchers tenure with South Africa Selection is now the responsibility of respective head coaches This gives Walter a better say than Boucher to engage or to not engage with freelancers It does not however solve issues of fixtures and money which prevented AB de Villiers from returning to play in the 2019 50over World CupAfter his retirement in 2018 De Villiers had put up a lastminute to SAs then allformat skipper Du Plessis to play in the 2019 World Cup but his request was denied as he had not featured in any of the matches leading up to the tournament after CSA had asked him to take part in at least two out of 10 ODI series before the marquee eventDe Villiers declined due to scheduling and financial reasons something CSA is yet to resolve While they would ordinarily give a noncontracted player a match fee for playing in any games they now also need to consider compensation if these games coincide with a league a situation where the player is able to earn moreShortterm deals which Nkwe indicated are being discussed would likely make allowances for that gap pay a player enough to choose their national coloursThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever