Faf Du Plessis sheds light on his exclusion from South African team for the 20-20 World Cup 2021

Faf Du Plessis (Source: Twitter)

South African cricketer, Faf Du Plessis has cleared all the doubts about him not playing in the 2021 20-20 World Cup and also the current World Cup going on in Australia. In the chapter titled, "The Ghosts of Insecurity", in his book, the batter revealed everything that took place before he decided to retire from Test cricket for South Africa and being ghosted by coach Mark Boucher.

He also revealed that the former Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket and convenor of selectors, Victor Mpitsang ghosted him when he made himself available for selection for the 20-20 World Cup 2021 following his Test retirement.

According to ESPNCricinfo, in his autobiography, in the chapter titled "The Ghosts of Insecurity", the batter talked about the final phases with the national team. It started after Boucher took over the side as head coach for a series against England back in December 2019.

Du Plessis said that the series "felt different" as he did not feel being backed by Boucher whenever he faced a media barrage. Du Plessis felt that Graeme Smith and Boucher did not provide him with enough support, which set the tone for the rest of the relationship.

During that time, Plessis wanted to play T20Is on a contract deal and be allowed to play in T20 leagues outside his nation. He wanted only a T20I contract, something CSA had not done before. CSA decided not to give the contract only in T20Is but was exploring possibilities to use Plessis in the 2021 20-20 World Cup if he played in 65 percent of national fixtures.

Du Plessis was well aware that international and league cricket will clash and with an Indian T20 League contract that "wasn't enough to cover all my financial commitments", he wanted a "formal offer that would enable me to play in fewer leagues".

Du Plessis said that Smith did not communicate back with him on this matter and he started to accept opportunities to play more leagues. The former South Africa captain said,

"Dealing with CSA during this time was like being in a relationship with someone who does not value you as much as you value them. That complicated matters and I had to work much harder than should have been necessary to get them to communicate efficiently. Their actions made it easier for me to accept that going to the World Cup was not meant to be."