Dean Elgar confirmed as Proteas stand-in captain

Dean Elgar has been confirmed as stand-in captain for the Proteas in the third and final Test match against Pakistan at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.

Elgar‚ who led the team against England at Lord’s in 2017‚ takes over the leadership role in the absence of Faf du Plessis‚ who is suspended for this match because of his team’s slow over rate in their win over Pakistan in Cape Town.

In other team news‚ the selectors have put uncapped Cape Cobras opening batsman Pieter Malan on standby as cover for Aiden Markram who will undergo a late fitness test on Thursday as a result of a thigh injury he sustained while fielding at Newlands.

“The appointment of Elgar as stand-in captain is part of our strategy to develop our pool of leaders‚” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) national selection panel convener Linda Zondi.

“We have previously used Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock in this role in ODI matches and Dean has previously captained the Proteas at Test match level against England at Lord’s in 2017‚” he said.

Zondi said that putting Malan on standby was reward for his impressive four-day performances in recent times.

“Pieter Malan has an outstanding track record in four-day domestic cricket over the past two seasons‚ having made more than 1‚700 runs including seven centuries‚” he said.

“He has also made the step-up to South Africa ‘A’ level‚ first against Australia and then against India ‘A’ on the subcontinent.”

South Africa are 2-0 up in the three-Test series and the final Test is a dead rubber.