Faf du Plessis on Monday announced that he is stepping down as the skipper of South Africa's Test and T20I teams.
His decision comes just days ahead of the upcoming T20I series against Australia.
Cricket South Africa's official handle posted the confirmation on Twitter and said: "BreakingNews @faf1307 has announced that he is stepping down from his role as captain of the Proteas' Test and T20 teams effective immediately".
"When I took over the leadership, I did so with the commitment to lead, perform & most importantly, to serve. As the team heads into a new direction with new leaders and a young crop of players, I feel it will be in the best interests of SA cricket to relinquish the captaincy," du Plessis said in an official statement.
Du Plessis had led the South African side in the 2019 World Cup where the team failed to make it to the semi-finals. Under his leadership, the Proteas also had to face Test series losses against India and England.
"The last season of my captaincy has been the most challenging to date as I had a lot of off-field issues that I devoted my energy towards," du Plessis said.
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The 35-year-old has taken the decision in order to facilitate the emergence of the next generation of leaders within the team under the new stewardship of Quinton de Kock.
De Kock had led the Proteas in the recently concluded ODI and T20I series against England.