Dean Elgar tried to convince CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe and Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad to let him continue as captain.
CSA announced on Thursday that Temba Bavuma had replaced Elgar at the helm of the Test team, and that while Bavuma would continue to lead the ODI side, he had relinquished the T20I captaincy.
Bavuma’s first assignment as Test captain will be the two-match series against the West Indies, which starts in Centurion on 28 February.
CSA said Elgar remains available to play for the Proteas.
Elgar was informed of the decision by Nkwe and Conrad two weeks ago. Rapport claims Elgar tried to change their minds and shared his vision for the team, but it fell on deaf ears.
“I won’t say he was fired,” Nkwe told Rapport. “There was a restructuring of captaincy and he will still be part of the leadership group. Shuks wanted Temba because he believed the two of them were better aligned to drive the new strategy.”
Elgar captained the Proteas in 17 Tests, of which they won nine (52.94%). Of Proteas captains who led the team in at least 10 Tests, only Shaun Pollock (53.94%) has a better win percentage.
Elgar captained the team to home series wins against India and Bangladesh, and a drawn series in New Zealand, before heavy series defeats in England and Australia.
Elgar also lost form with the bat, scoring just 56 runs in six innings in Australia at an average of 9.33.
Conrad said Elgar “still has an important role to play” for the Test team.
“This does not make Dean a bad captain and Temba a good captain,” he added. “Temba knows how I want to do things. The days we spent together in Bloemfontein and Kimberley consolidated my feeling that he should be the captain.”
