Rassie van der Dussen (pictured) retired from international cricket citing a lack of communication and clarity from Proteas team management, including coach Shukri Conrad, about his role and future in the team. Picture: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
It was no co-incidence that Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen announced his retirement from international cricket a day after Cricket South Africa (CSA) left his name off their contracted players for the new season earlier this month, and now he has hinted at a lack of communication from team management.
It’s no secret that Proteas coach Shukri Conrad likes to do things his own way, and that approach has seen him achieve considerable success, like claiming the World Test Championship (WTC) title in 2025.
Naturally, he has made some big selection calls during his tenure, like leaving out Ottneil Baartman for the T20 World Cup, despite the player featuring prominently in the side before and after the showpiece event.
Even with the 37-year-old Van der Dussen, it’s not a major surprise that Conrad was looking at younger players for the future.
However, it seems like Van der Dussen was not on the same page about his place in the team and his future before he decided to bow out from international cricket on April 2.
“I don’t think I have much of a relationship with Shukri. We were more professional in our relationship up until five months ago when he stopped talking to me,” Van der Dussen told SportsBoom.co.za.
Since making his Proteas debut relatively late in his career in 2018, Van der Dussen has gone on to play 18 Tests, 71 ODIs, and 57 T20Is.
As a top-order batsman throughout his career, Van der Dussen firmly believes his position is in the top three.
However, in the last T20I series he played for South Africa against hosts Australia seven months ago, he batted at six in the two matches he played in the three-match contest.
“In the Australia tour where I batted six in the two T20I matches that I played there, I said to him I think I have the skill set to bat anywhere I’m needed but just understand that I’ve never batted six in my entire career and now you’re asking me to bat six against Australia, which is obviously a strong team, in Australia four months out from the World Cup. That was an in-person conversation.”
Van der Dussen was a fixture in the Proteas batting order, especially in ODIs, as he still averaged over 50 with six centuries and 17 fifties.
In fact, ahead of the T20 World Cup, Van der Dussen said he spoke to CSA Convenor and selector Patrick Moroney in October, who told the player in no uncertain terms that he was not part of their plans. Van der Dussen battled to understand this decision.
“The last communication was with Patrick when he told me that I was not in the plans for the T20s heading into the World Cup and that there’s no way in for me into the World Cup squad,” Van der Dussen revealed.
“I subsequently asked him, ‘Are you telling me that a contracted player who’s played over 50 T20Is, only months out from the World Cup, that there’s no way that I can earn my place?’ It doesn’t matter who the player is; how do you tell a player that there is no way that you can work your way into the squad?”