Cape Town: Prolific batsman Hashim Amla in a&nbsp;surprise move on Wednesday stepped down as South Africa captain after&nbsp;the end of the second cricket Test against England that was&nbsp;drawn here.
Amla, who had been facing criticism of his leadership&nbsp;after losing the Indian series 0-3 and then the first match&nbsp;against England, did answer back with a double century (201)&nbsp;at Newlands but decided to step down as skipper.&nbsp;
ODI captain AB de Villiers will lead the Proteas side in&nbsp;the remaining two matches.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/jan/Amla-quits.jpg" alt="Hashim Amla" /> Hashim Amla, who had been facing criticism of his leadership&nbsp;after losing the Indian series 0-3 and then the first match&nbsp;against England, has stepped down as South African skipper. File Pic/AFP
Amla was named as Graeme Smith's replacement as captain&nbsp;in mid-2014 and this was his sixth series in charge. After&nbsp;winning his first three rubber's against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe&nbsp;and West Indies, he oversaw a rain-affected drawn series&nbsp;against Bangladesh and then his team's first overseas defeat&nbsp;in nine years in India.
"This decision has not an easy one to make I felt I had&nbsp;to be true to myself. I am comfortable with my decision and I&nbsp;feel I need to work on my own game," Amla said in a statement.&nbsp;
"I was deeply honoured when the position was given to me.&nbsp;Throughout my time as captain, I have always had the support&nbsp;of my team-mates and coaching staff . I remain committed to&nbsp;the Proteas across all formats and I will fully support&nbsp;whoever is shown as my successor."
South Africa are currently 1-0 down in the four-match&nbsp;series, after defeat in Durban and a draw in Cape Town.&nbsp;
"I have chatted to some of the guys in the team so I&nbsp;don't think it will come as a surprise," he said. "AB is very&nbsp;able and a brilliant captain."&nbsp;
"The decision has been purely based on that I think&nbsp;somebody else can do a better job. It was just something that&nbsp;crossed my mind and was working on my mind. My leadership&nbsp;style, and we have a very young team, maybe somebody else&nbsp;would have done a better job."
Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat said:&nbsp;"We respect Hashim's decision and the manner in which he&nbsp;thought about it and then communicated with me. It was&nbsp;consistent with his well respected personality.
"He still has a huge role to play in shaping the success&nbsp;of our team without the need for a leadership title. He is&nbsp;just that type of a person and we are very fortunate to have&nbsp;him in our stable.
"I want to thank AB for readily accepting the challenge&nbsp;of rebuilding our Test team as we seek to remain the best team&nbsp;in the world."
Amla captained South Africa in 14 Tests, winning four,&nbsp;losing four and drawing six. 
The penultimate Test of the England series is slated to&nbsp;start in Johannesburg on January 14. 
Meanwhile, de Villiers said he is proud to be given the&nbsp;responsibility of leading the national cricket side. 
"I've said this before that it is an incredible honour to&nbsp;captain South Africa in any format. The captaincy has&nbsp;obviously come at short notice and is the realisation of a&nbsp;lifelong dream," de Villiers said. 
"At the moment my priority and focus is placed on leading&nbsp;this team to what can be a memorable series win against&nbsp;England. This Test squad is motivated and determined to turn&nbsp;our performances around and I'm looking forward to taking up&nbsp;that challenge as captain. Hashim is a good friend and close&nbsp;colleague and I am grateful for his support." 
Proteas coach Russell Domingo also said that De Villiers&nbsp;is the front runner for the job in the longer run.

Prolific batsman Hashim Amla in a&nbsp;surprise move on Wednesday stepped down as South Africa captain after&nbsp;the end of the second Test against England that was&nbsp;drawn in Cape Town

Hashim Amla quits as South Africa Test captain

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Hashim Amla quits as South Africa Test captain

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