Faf du Plessis has stepped down from South Africa captaincy in Tests and T20Is effective immediately, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed on Monday.
"When I took over the leadership, I did so with the commitment to lead, perform and most importantly, to serve. As the team heads into a new direction with new leaders and a young crop of players, I feel it will be in the best interests of South African cricket to relinquish the captaincy in all formats," said du Plessis in a statement.
"This was one of the toughest decisions to make, but I remain fully committed to supporting Quinton, Mark and my teammates as we continue to rebuild and re-align as a group," he said.
The right-handed batsman captained South Africa in a total of 112 international matches across all three formats since December 2012 when he led South Africa for the very first time against New Zealand in a T20I series.
"I am healthy, fit, energised and motivated and certainly see myself playing an important role in the squad for as long as I continue putting in winning performances for the team," he added.
The Proteas will take on Australia in a three-match T20I series starting on Friday.
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