Hashim Amla quits Proteas' vice-captain role

Johannesburg: South African batsman Hashim Amla has announced his decision to resign from the position of vice captain of the team’s one-day and Twenty20 squads following his reluctance to take over the captaincy from AB de Villiers during the ODI series against New Zealand. Requesting some time to focus on his batting, Amla said that it would be unfair for him to don the vice-captain role if he is uncomfortable of taking over the captaincy from De Villers, Sport24 reports. According to Amla, although captaincy has always been an exploratory area for him, after leading three ODIs and few T20s, he felt that it time to prepare a potential successor for the skipper role. He also said that he will continue to be an advisor for the team and will remain active on the field as a senior player. Explaining his decision to take a break from international T20 games, Amla said that his decision was influenced by the hectic international schedule and added that the break will give him more room to manage his time between the formats more constructively. Amla further said that he still has hopes of playing for South Africa in the future and will re-visit the decision at a later stage.

Amla was appointed in June 2011 and has since captained the Proteas in two T20’s and three ODI’s against Australia, as well as five unofficial T20’s against Zimbabwe in de Villiers’ absence, the report added. ANI