T20 franchise commitments and “injury concerns” could prevent Faf du Plessis from returning to the Proteas ODI setup ahead of this year’s World Cup in India.

The 38-year-old retired from Test cricket two years ago, but remains available for ODI and T20I selection. His last ODI was against Australia at the 2019 World Cup in England and his last T20I against England in late 2020.

Du Plessis is the leading run-scorer in this year’s IPL, with 576 in 11 matches at an average of 64.00 and a strike rate of 158.24.

Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter told News24 he was still “pretty open” about the possibility of picking Du Plessis for the ODI squad, but that there were other factors to consider.

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“The reality of it is that Faf has injury concerns he wants to take care of, and playing in the T20 leagues are his bread and butter,” said Walter.

“That’s his priority, and he certainly hasn’t closed the door on playing for the national team, otherwise he would have retired.

“The conversations are ongoing, but 50-over cricket is different in terms of the workload and the physical expectations.

“He needs to take care of that, something that I totally understand. If, by chance, all of that tidies itself up, from where he’s fully fit and firing for 50-over cricket, we’ll have the conversation again.

“For now, T20 cricket is his priority and focus, something I’ll respect.”