Rassie van der Dussen also stated that for him, playing for his country has always been his biggest and only goal. Speaking about South Africa's qualification scenario, a win against England in their final group-stage fixture will be enough to see them through
Rassie van der Dussen (Pic: File Pic)
Ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 match against England, South Africa's batsman Rassie van der Dussen said the ongoing marquee event will possibly be the last ICC event of his career.
South Africa will clash against England in their last Champions Trophy 2025 group-stage match at the National Stadium.
"It's definitely a possibility that it's my last ICC tournament. I'm not saying that with any preconceived ideas that I'll call time on it, or management will call time on my career. It's just the reality," Rassie van der Dussen said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Rassie van der Dussen also stated that for him, playing for his country has always been his biggest and only goal.
"My ultimate goal has always been to play for the Proteas. People are asking me, Are you going to play leagues afterwards? I don't know. I don't know if the prospect of not playing for the Proteas goes away, I'll have that hunger to play in the leagues. Representing my country has always been one of my big and only goals, so if that falls away, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. If I'm offered another contract, I'll definitely take it and commit for that time period," van der Dussen added.
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Rassie van der Dussen also praised batsmen such as Tristan Stubbs, Tony de Zorzi, and Matthew Breetzke, who all feature in the Champions Trophy 2025 alongside him.
"It's such a great thing that there's so many young players coming through, guys really playing well. A guy like Tristan Stubbs, he's sitting on the sidelines. Or Tony de Zorzi. And even if you go into the domestic structure, Matthew Breetzke came in and made that 150. You can even go further back; Lhuan-dre Pretorius just made a hundred against Western Province in the one-day cup. Ryan's [Rickelton] only starting out now actually so there's so many good players," van der Dussen stated.
Recently, during the ODI Tri-Series with New Zealand and Pakistan, Breetzke achieved an elusive record as he became the first batter to score 150 runs during the men's ODI debut. The right-hand batter dethroned former West Indies cricketer Desmond Haynes' record of scoring 148 runs from 136 balls against Australia in his ODI debut in 1978.
On the other hand, Rickelton continued his fine resurgence across all formats of the game in 2025, becoming the first South African player to score a century on his ICC Champions Trophy debut. The opener accomplished this feat during his side's ICC Champions Trophy campaign opener against Afghanistan at Karachi.
Speaking about South Africa's qualification scenario, a win against England in their final group-stage fixture will be enough to see them through.
The Temba Bavuma-led side can also progress if they lose against England and Australia defeat Afghanistan. However, if England wins their final game and Afghanistan beats Australia, then the Proteas will be in a tight NRR contest with the Aussies, depending on their final results.
(With ANI Inputs)
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