Rassie van der Dussen, who was cited by many as ‘the next AB de Villiers’ after his prolific performances for the Proteas at the 2019 Cricket World Cup, is now down in the dumps and looks unable to decipher a way out of his batting slump.
In this year’s Mzansi Super League (MSL), he has mustered a mere 130 runs at an underwhelming average of 26.00 and strike-rate of 120.37. This is in stark contrast to the 469 runs he scored at a phenomenal average of 58.62 and strike-rate of 138.75 in the 2018 edition of the MSL.
Why then is Van der Dussen not playing at his brilliant best in this year’s MSL?
- Because of the arrival of Temba Bavuma, Van der Dussen is now batting at four for the Jozi Stars even though his success in last season’s MSL was at number three. He now feels rushed at the crease as he has less time to get himself settled than he did when he came in at three.
- South African Cricket sources reveal that Van der Dussen was disappointed after Bavuma was named captain, as he thought that his fantastic MSL campaign last year would have got him the nod to replace the now departed Jozi Stars captain Dane Vilas.
- One of the sources also reveal that, after Van der Dussen’s brilliant World Cup this year, he is now feeling too much pressure as the public and media continue to blow his trumpet.
- Another source reveals that Van der Dussen now feels that he has cemented his place in the Proteas team, so he is not training as much as he did before the World Cup.
South African Cricket 