CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – Graeme Smith is set to quit as South Africa’s Twenty20 captain.
Recent injuries seem to have hastened the decision to reduce his workload in order to concentrate on prolonging a test career that has yielded 7,170 runs at an average of 50.49, a source who declined to be identified told Reuters yesterday.
Smith, 29, who has captained his country since 2003, is due to hold a news conference in Johannesburg at 1100 local time (0900 GMT) today.
It also seems probable the opening batsman will step down as one-day skipper in the near future, possibly after next year’s 50-over World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Smith has been concerned about the lack of a succession plan and has spoken on a number of occasions about his desire to finish his international career by playing as “one of the boys” under a different skipper.