Former Performance Director of the Proteas, Paddy Upton, revealed in his podcast, “Lessons From The World’s Best,” that he had recommended Faf du Plessis for Test captaincy, following Graeme Smith’s retirement in 2014.

The frontrunners for Test captaincy after Smith’s retirement were Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, and Faf du Plessis. Amla was the obvious choice at that point because of his impeccable Test record. De Villiers was already ODI captain, while Du Plessis had been T20 captain since 2013. Although it appears as if du Plessis’ appointment as captain would have been a left-field selection, he was averaging 51 after his first 20 Tests.

In the 18 months leading up to Smith’s retirement, the Proteas had lost the services of Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis, and Hashim Amla was tasked with leading South Africa through a transition phase that would include tough series against Sri Lanka and India away from home, and England at home.

Amla’s South Africa beat Sri Lanka, but lost to India, ending South Africa’s nine-year run of being unbeaten in a Test series. At the end of the England series, which South Africa lost as well, Amla relinquished the Test captaincy. AB de Villiers, at that point, was appointed Test captain but was not able to do it for long because of a two-year sabbatical that he would take, owing to injuries and workload concerns.

Faf du Plessis was soon named Test captain after leading South Africa to a 5-0 rout of Australia in a home ODI series, followed by a historic 2-1 Test series win against Australia away from home. Du Plessis’ captaincy was widely appreciated throughout his tenure, and ultimately vindicates the recommendation Upton had made in 2014.