Cape Town, Jun 4 (IANS): Veteran South Africa cricketer Dean Elgar believes captaincy is something that is decided by the hierarchy and not something for which players have to apply like a job interview.

The captain's position in the longest format has been vacant since Faf du Plessis stepped down as skipper earlier this year and many cricketers are said to be in the running for the top job.

The likes of Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj have thrown their hats into the ring but Elgar believes people shouldn't expose themselves by raising their hands for the high-pressure job.

"The captaincy is not like going for a job interview, where you hand in your CV," Elgar was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"You don't put your hand up for it. It's something that's decided by someone else and it's who they think is the best person for the job.

"It's good for players to have confidence and back their abilities, but when you do that, you can put yourself in an exposed position," he added.

Elgar also gave an insight into what could've forced du Plessis to give up captaincy. The 32-year pointed towards the 2019 World Cup that saw Proteas crashing out in the group stage itself.

"If you as a captain aren't getting results, then pressure builds. The World Cup didn't work in his favour and then everything snowballed from there. He would have known whether it was the right time to step down or not," Elgar said.