News24 | Faf reunites with AB ahead of SA Legends title defence in UAE

AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis together with the Proteas.

Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images

• AB de Villiers will once again captain the South Africa team ahead of this month’s World Championship of Legends title defence.
• Former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis will play in his first tournament, joining former team-mates JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell. Fast bowling legend Allan Donald will be the coach.
• Last year, South Africa defeated Pakistan by nine wickets to win the title at Edgbaston.
• For more, visit News24’s cricket section.

South Africa will defend their World Championship of Legends (WCL) cricket crown in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with former star batter AB de Villiers again entrusted with the captaincy.

Former Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis and all-rounder JP Duminy lend leadership experience to the 15-man squad, while Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir bring a wealth of international pedigree.

The third edition of the WCL takes place from 3-18 October in the UAE, with seven nations competing: India, Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s involvement is uncertain after the PCB banned future WCL participation in the wake of the dispute over that season’s India-Pakistan fixture.

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Du Plessis, who played 69 Tests, 143 ODIs and 50 T20Is for the Proteas, will feature in his first WCL squad and will play alongside long-time friend and former Affies team-mate De Villiers.

In the batting ranks, Richard Levi, Colin Ingram, Sarel Erwee and Morne van Wyk will bolster the line-up, while Aaron Phangiso and Shaun von Berg supplement the attack with additional spin. Robbie Frylinck completes the 15-player squad.

The squad boasts no shortage of firepower with the ball as Marchant de Lange and Hardus Viljoen have been selected alongside Parnell, while Proteas fast bowling legend Allan Donald will coach the group.

South Africa head into the tournament as defending champions after defeating Pakistan by nine wickets in the WCL final at Edgbaston.

De Villiers smashed an unbeaten 120 off 60 balls as South Africa successfully chased 196 to win the second edition of the WCL.

South Africa open their campaign against the West Indies Champions in Sharjah on 4 October.

Squads for 2026 WCL tournament:

India: Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Varun Aaron, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Piyush Chawla, Stuart Binny, Rishi Dhawan and Abhimanyu Mithun

Australia: David Warner (captain), Chris Lynn, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, D’Arcy Short, Ben Dunk, Kane Richardson, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson, Fawad Ahmed, Ben Laughlin, Rob Quiney, Nathan Reardon and Andrew Tye

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Chadwick Walton, Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Rayad Emrit, Sulieman Benn, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Nikita Miller, Dave Mohammed

England: Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Phil Mustard, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, James Anderson, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, Tim Ambrose, Joe Denly and Stuart Meaker

South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain), Faf du Plessis, Wayne Parnell, JP Duminy, Marchant de Lange, Hardus Viljoen, Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso, Richard Levi, Sarel Erwee, Colin Ingram, Morne van Wyk, Shaun von Berg, Robbie Frylinck, Allan Donald (coach)

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah Riyad (captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Rubel Hossain, Imrul Kayes, Rony Talukdar, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Ziaur Rahman, Enamul Haque Jr, Jahurul Islam, Shuvagata Hom, Abu Jayed and Fazle Mahmud

Pakistan (TBC): Kamran Akmal, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umar Amin, Asif Afridi, Aamer Yamin, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Rumman Raees