South Africa Star Hints At Champions Trophy Being His Last ICC Tournament

Rassie van der Dussen has been the fulcrum of the South African ODI batting order for some time now, and has done so with a lot of success. The 36-year-old averages 48.38 from 63 innings in the format at a strike rate of 86.75. However, his reliability, his trademark virtue as a number three batter, has been a bit jeopardised. 

He might have scored a 52 in the game against Afghanistan earlier in the ICC Champions Trophy, but before that, he had gone 10 innings without at least a fifty and hasn’t scored a century in 13 innings now. With the younger crop of top order batters — Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickleton, Tristan Stubbs and even Lhuan-dre Pretorius — doing well, his position might be in danger too as the selectors will look to build a side for the 2027 ODI World Cup. 

“It's definitely a possibility that it's my last ICC tournament. I'm not saying that with any preconceived ideas I'll call time on it or management will call time on my career. It's just the reality,” van der Dussen said before the match against England in the Champions Trophy on March 1. 

“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 hundred against Western Province in the one-day cup. Ryan's [Rickelton] is only starting out now, actually, so there are 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.”

With his national contract up for discussion in April, the right-handed batter is in for a dicey period in the next few months. He’ll have to have tough conversations about his future with the stakeholders in Cricket South Africa (CSA). 

“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] and with Enoch [Nkwe, Director of 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.”

Van der Dussen also expressed his desire to help the Proteas go through a transition period since many of these young batters would be playing in T20 leagues worldwide, and that’s where he can help South Africa lay the base for their 2027 World Cup preparations. 

“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,” the 36 year old batter said. 

"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.”