da pinnacle： Van der Dussen, who turned 36 earlier this month, has accepted that his time in the team will not be forever
da betway： Firdose Moonda27-Feb-2025While most in South African white-ball cricket see every step of the next two years as building a path to the home ODI World Cup in 2027, Rassie van der Dussen is entertaining the idea that the Champions Trophy 2025 could be his last multi-team event.Van der Dussen turned 36 earlier this month and currently plays only one format for South Africa, though he has been capped in all three. As he gets older and a younger crop of batters start coming through, he has accepted that his time in the team might be nearing an end.”It’s definitely a possibility that it’s my last ICC tournament. I’m not saying that with any preconceived ideas that I’ll call time on it, or management will call time on my career. It’s just the reality,” van der Dussen said in Karachi, where South Africa are preparing for their last group stage match against England.Related
All-but-through SA hope to pile more misery on out-of-contention England
Dane Paterson gets Lord's chance ahead of World Test Championship final
Group B scenarios: Are South Africa favourites to finish on top?
Van der Dussen: 'Don't have to be a rocket scientist' to know India have advantage
“It’s such a great thing that there’s so many young players coming through, guys really playing well. A guy like Tristan Stubbs, he’s sitting on the sidelines. Or Tony de Zorzi. And even if you go into the domestic structure, Matthew Breetzke came in and made that 150. You can even go further back, Lhuan-dre Pretorius just made a hundred against Western Province in the one-day cup. Ryan’s [Rickelton] only starting out now actually so there’s so many good players.”I’m not blind to the possibility that if I don’t perform that someone won’t be there to take my place. I certainly don’t expect any preferential treatment because I think in a healthy environment, guys push each other organically and that pushes everyone to be better.”Three of the players van der Dussen mentioned – Stubbs, de Zorzi and Rickelton – are in South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad and along with him are competing for, at most, two spots in the top order. One of those positions is to open alongside captain Temba Bavuma – and that role has shifted between de Zorzi and Rickelton – and the other to bat at No. 3 (though de Zorzi and Rickelton both played the tournament opener against Afghanistan as Heinrich Klaasen was out injured).Van der Dussen knows Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi are pushing him for a spot in the South Africa line-up•ICC/Getty Images
Since 2019, van der Dussen has been South Africa’s most regular No. 3 and with good reason – he has their third-highest batting average in ODIs and has built a reputation for reliability. But over the last year, that has started to wane.Before his 52 against Afghanistan, van der Dussen had gone ten innings without a half-century and it has been 13 since the last time he scored a hundred. Though there is no suggestion of it – and him being at a press conference suggests also no danger of it – when Klaasen returns to full fitness, van der Dussen could be in the firing line if all of Bavuma, de Zorzi and Rickelton are retained. In the immediate term, it is more likely, de Zorzi will sit out and van der Dussen could get a shot at a title he has been working towards. “For me I always wanted to get to the Champions Trophy, which is now, and then we’ll reassess after that,” he said. “My national contract is coming up at the end of April.”I’ll have discussions with Rob [Walter, the white-ball coach] and with Enoch [Nkwe, director of national teams and high performance] and see where they see me and what my role is going forward. I feel like I’m playing well. Physically, I’m putting a lot of time into my body. If I’m still good enough in two years, I’d like to think that I’m in the mix. If not, if other guys are pushing me and I can’t keep up with the youngsters, then that’s also fine.”Unlike some players in the twilight of their careers around the world – Trent Boult, Devon Conway and Tabraiz Shamsi are some examples – van der Dussen does not appear inclined to reject a national contract for league opportunities.”My ultimate goal has always been to play for the Proteas,” van der Dussen said. “People are asking me, are you going to play leagues afterwards? I don’t know. I don’t know if the prospect of not playing for the Proteas goes away, I’ll have that hunger to play in the leagues. Representing my country has always been one of my big and only goals so if that falls away, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. If I’m offered another contract, I’ll definitely take it and commit for that time period.”And even if that contract does not take him all the way to 2027, van der Dussen wants to play a part in helping South Africa’s ODI side move towards their best ahead of the World Cup. “I would suspect that, from a management point of view, your 2027 World Cup side has to start playing more regularly and start playing together. But there’s a lot of leagues happening in the next few months and everyone won’t be available all the time, so even if it’s in a transitional sort of role, I’ll definitely commit to that. Being here is for me the ultimate thing. Leagues are nice, but that’s not my be-all and end-all.”Rassie van der Dussen is focusing on upskilling his game and believes leagues like T10 have helped in that regard•Sportzpics
He confirmed that while he has not retired from red-ball cricket, in “the last year or two of my career, I can’t see myself playing any more red-ball cricket”, and that he turned down an offer to do so later this year. “I did have a county offer thrown my way, which I declined.”Instead, he is focusing on upskilling his short format game and seeing how far it takes him. “I’ve played in a few leagues and done well. Even leagues like T10 have taken my game forward. That’s why I’m feeling now that I’m still hungry and I’m still playing well.”As things stand, South Africa have at least one more Champions Trophy game and, depending on the outcome of the Afghanistan vs Australia match, may not even need to win it to progress to the semi-finals.They take on England, who are already eliminated, but who van der Dussen believes could still be dangerous opposition. “We were always coming into this match saying that it will possibly be a quarter-final type of situation. Whoever wins that will go through. A little bit changes for them because they can’t go through anymore but for us, it’s a match against England. We don’t need any extra motivation to play England.”
