Is South Africa’s revolving door approach to captaincy a bad thing?

For a long time, the role of captain was an entrenched position. It was a role that belonged to one man, and he was central to proceedings – usually on and off the field.

For the most part the skipper was also in charge regardless of the format as the adage that too many cooks spoil the broth was strictly adhered to.

Cricket has changed significantly in recent times. The rise of T20 has had a huge impact on the game and there are quite clearly distinct differences between the three international formats – Test, ODI and T20I.

Regardless of the differences, what is quite astounding is a quick audit of the number of different players who have led the Proteas this year. Take a guess how many captains South Africa will have had by the time South Africa get to the end of 2025.

You will almost certainly be shocked by the answer because the days when names like Graeme Smith, Hansie Cronje, Shaun Pollock or Kepler Wessels defined eras are gone.

By the end of 2025 South Africa will have had no fewer than seven players leading the team. By way of a quick recap there’s the two obvious names of Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram.

There was Keshav Maharaj and Wiaan Mulder who were each skipper for a test in Zimbabwe. There’s Donovan Ferreira who was the leader of the T20I side recently. The list is wrapped up with David Miller and Matthew Breetzke who are set to lead the T20I and ODI sides on the upcoming tour of Pakistan.

That is a lot of players entrusted with leading the hopes of the nation as they go about the important business of defending their WTC title, preparing for the T20I World Cup and working towards hosting the World Cup in ODI cricket in 2027.

The big questions are why is this happening and what do we think about it?

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Why have the Proteas had so many captains in 2025?

Injury

Temba Bavuma is the official Test and ODI skipper and while he is both a quality batsman and an excellent leader, his aging body has started to let him down somewhat in the last while.

He has been rested on numerous occasions, and he has also been injured regularly. Injury means that he is not available to lead in Pakistan just he was not able to lead the team in Zimbabwe either.

His replacement in Zimbabwe was another veteran, Keshav Maharaj and he too ended up getting injured, which meant Wiaan Mulder got the chance to lead the team in the second Test.

Scheduling

The calendar can be demanding at times, as we see this weekend, with a Proteas side playing in Namibia on Saturday and another playing in Lahore on Sunday.

The Namibia game is, in many ways, a ‘favour’ to the neighbours and co-hosts of the 2027 World Cup and it is a rather under-strength side that will do duty.

Donovan Ferreira, who had just eight caps when he was set to lead the side against Namibia, perhaps an indication that he is being earmarked for more T20 leadership in the future.

Skill sets

Back in the day when T20I first came onto the scene the three forms of the game were different but not entirely so. Graeme Smith was the skipper in the Proteas’ first ever T20I (and he was the top scorer on the day with 61 out of a total of 133 against New Zealand).

His appointment to lead the T20I side seemed quite natural at the time given he was both an excellent leader and already the existing captain of the ODI and Test sides.

But the nature of the different games has diverged radically over the last 20 years. Not only are the games played differently, but you also have to think about them differently – it makes complete sense that the different formats play differently to the strengths of different players.

Where does the captain come from?

There are two schools of thinking about captains. The one says you should first pick the best leader available and then build a team around him. The other says that you should pick the best possible team and then pick a captain from the players available.

At the end of the day, you should probably have a blend of the two… John Smit, the former Springbok captain, was always a good example of this.

For large parts of his career, he probably wasn’t the best hooker in the country (that honour fell to Bismarck du Plessis). But such was the value that he brought to the team with his leadership that he was still able to keep Du Plessis on the bench.

Seven captains in a year is clearly a lot, although we have seen the reasons why it has happened. There is clearly nothing sinister on the go.

Rather, the fact that Shukri Conrad and his brain’s trust have been able to call on so many different helmsmen suggests that South African cricket is in a good place.

When there is a strategy and a playing philosophy in place, something that is bought into by all the players and drilled by the coach, then leading a team becomes easier.

While the seven skippers who have led South Africa over the year will undoubtedly have brought their own perspectives and energy to the field, what they haven’t had to do is bring their own unique game plan.

It’s fair to say that a Markram led T20 side will almost certainly play the same way that the Miller team or the Ferreira team plays. And that is a good thing.

South African cricket is building itself an identity and a way of doing things.

To use the highly successful Springboks as an example once again, Rassie Erasmus spends an inordinate amount of time hosting alignment camps for his charges.

He makes sure that they are all on the same page, that everyone knows the plans and that they are all able to execute them and play their roles as required.

It is worth noting that in recent times the Springboks have also had numerous captains – Siya Kolisi is the main man, but Jessie Kriel, Salmaan Moerat, Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Handre Pollard have all lead the side as well.

Indeed, Kriel even led the team in a game that saw Kolisi start alongside him.

Done right the captain is the conductor. The team is the orchestra, and the music is the game plan and strategy.

A good conductor can be the difference between an ordinary performance and a great one, but regardless of who the conductor may be, or who is playing in the orchestra, they are always playing Mozart and that’s the way it should be.

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