'Leadership is something that comes naturally to me': Dean Elgar eyes South Africa test captaincy

Dean Elgar said he is willing to become South Africa’s next test captain after speculation about him replacing Faf du Plessis are doing the rounds.

Dean Elgar said he is willing to become South Africa’s next test captain after speculation about him replacing Faf du Plessis are doing the rounds.

Elgar, who will be turning 33 next month, put his hand up in an interview with Cricket South Africa (CSA) and joins Aiden Markram on the list of players who have expressed interest in the job.

As for Quinton de Kock, he was expected to take over from Du Plessis, having already succeeded him as the Proteas captain in limited-overs, but CSA said it did not want to overburden the wicketkeeper-batsman and ruled him out of the test captaincy.

The appointment of a captain has become more pressing as CSA still trying to find a solution to playing their scheduled three-test series against the West Indies in July.

"It's definitely not an easy journey being a test captain but I think leadership is something that comes extremely naturally to me," Elgar said, according to Reuters.

"I've captained teams in the past, right up from school level to the provincial level and at the franchise level. I enjoyed it extremely and if I was asked to take on the captaincy it’s definitely something I would think long and hard about because it would mean a lot to me."

As for Du Plessis, he quit as captain after South Africa lost their home series to England at the start of the year. Elgar twice deputised for Du Plessis as captain - losing the 2017 Lords test to England by 211 runs and overseeing a 107-run victory over Pakistan in early 2019.