Breaking news: Veteran South African cricketer to retire after test series against India

Veteran South African opener to retire from international cricket after India tests.

Dean Elgar, the veteran South African opener, will retire from international cricket after the conclusion of the upcoming two-match Test series against India. Cricket South Africa announced the 36-year-old’s decision on Thursday (December 22), with the games in Centurion and Cape Town being his final outings.

Elgar has so far scored 5146 runs from 84 Tests at an average of 37.28, including 13 hundreds, at the time of his retirement announcement. He also played eight One-Day Internationals for South Africa, the latest of which was in 2018.

“Dean Elgar represents a rare brand of cricketer in an age where everything is about innovation and power-hitting. He is a real old-school cricketer that can dig in, absorb and fight. I have no doubt the game will dearly miss him. He has always given everything for his country and never showed any fear, no matter the opposition. He was always there to take on the challenge, leading as captain when the country needed him most,” CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe told ESPNCricinfo.

“The Cape Town Test will be my last”- Dean Elgar

Dean Elgar had made his Test debut in 2012 in Perth and bagged a pair of ducks. An unbeaten 103 in Gqeberha against New Zealand two Tests later set him rolling. With 5146 runs, Elgar is South Africa’s eighth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket – only eight have gone past 5000 runs – and 352 runs behind Mark Boucher, who is seventh on the list.

“As they say, ‘all good things come to an end’, and the Indian home series will be my last, as I have made the decision to retire from our beautiful game. A game that has given me so much. The Cape Town Test will be my last. My favorite stadium in the world. A place I scored my first Test run against New Zealand and hopefully my last too,” Elgar was quoted as saying in a CSA release.

“Playing the game of cricket has always been a dream of mine but having the opportunity to represent your country is the ultimate. Having had the privilege to do it for 12 years internationally is simply beyond my wildest dreams. It has been an incredible journey that I have been fortunate enough to have,” he added.

The first Test between South Africa and India will begin on December 26 in Centurion and the Cape Town Test will begin on January 3rd.  

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