Champions Trophy 2025 – South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen at peace with uncertainty over future

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 will not be forever.

“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 from Karachi, where South Africa are preparing for their last group stage match against England.

Before his 52 against Afghanistan, van der Dussen had gone 10 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 himself could be in the firing line if all of Bavuma, de Zorzi and Rickelton are retained.

South Africa are yet to reveal any information on Klaasen’s elbow but have said he is fit to play against England. In that case, 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.

“My ultimate goal has always been to play for the Proteas. People are asking me, are you going to play leagues afterwards? 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.”

Rassie van der Dussen

“I’ll have discussions with Rob (Walter) 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 home 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.”

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.”