Following the resignation of AB de Villiers from the ODI captaincy, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced that Faf du Plessis will lead the team. He was already the captain of the Test and T20I side and with this new role, he will be at the helm of affairs for all the three formats.

The recommendation of the national selection panel to appoint Faf du Plessis as the skipper of the ODI side was approved by the Board of Directors of the CSA.

CSA has congratulated Faf on his appointment and said the 33-year-old is one of the top leaders in the cricketing fraternity and his appointment as the captain of the World XI side that is touring Pakistan is a symbol of his quality leadership.

“Congratulations to Faf on his appointment as the natural successor to the ODI leadership,” said CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat. “He has established himself as one of the best leaders in world cricket and this was reflected in his appointment as the captain for the World XI currently engaged in the T20 Series against Pakistan,” he added.

The first assignment for du Plessis as the full-time ODI captain will be against Bangladesh next month at home. He has led the Proteas side 9 times before in the absence of de Villiers and has tasted success on 8 of those occasions.

AB de Villiers had stepped down from captaincy to prolong his career as he wanted to focus more on his game. Faf du Plessis is the ideal person to lead the side after him as he possesses heaps of international cricket under his belt and also the experience of leading the side in other 2 formats.

The challenge for Faf will be big as South Africa have a handful of tough series coming up and they’ll also have the 2019 ODI World Cup preparation in the hindsight.