Veteran South Africa opener Dean Elgar has decided to retire from international cricket following the India Tests. In a career spanning over 12 years, Elgar played over 80 Tests, cementing his legacy as one of modern-day Test greats.

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In a statement to Cricket South Africa, Elgar said he feels grateful for doing what he loved for over a decade and is fortunate to have realised his dream of becoming a cricketer.  

“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 said in a statement.

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The Cape Town Test in Newlands, starting on January 3, will be Elgar’s last in white jersey for the Proteas. 

“The Cape Town Test will be my last. My favourite stadium in the world. A place I scored my first Test run against New Zealand and hopefully my last too,” Elgar added. 

Per the latest reports, after South Africa Test coach Shukri Conrad informed Elgar about the plans for the team for the future, excluding him, Elgar decided to call it quits. Having scored 5146* runs thus far, Elgar is the eighth-highest run-scorer in the country’s Test history.

More trouble for Proteas

With Elgar retiring from Tests, South Africa will resume their search for a new Test opener, a makeshift one (in the meantime) for the upcoming two-match New Zealand series. 

Considering most first-team players will be playing in the SA20 League, skipping the Test series, Elgar would have been the most experienced player for the away series and could have been asked to captain in the absence of Temba Bavuma.

Meanwhile, Titans’ batter Neil Brand might lead South Africa in the Test series, with Tony de Zorzi to open. For the record, Brand and de Zorzi have opened before for South Africa A against West Indies A in a recent three-match series.

Elgar made his international debut during the tour of Australia in 2012, at a time when South Africa was ranked number one in Tests. Although he registered a pair on Test debut – becoming the 38th player to do so, Elgar scored a hundred in his third Test.

During his career, he added 12 more tons to the list and has a hundred against each opponent other than Pakistan and Zimbabwe. 

The Centurion will host the first of the two Tests, starting on Boxing Day (Dec 26). 

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