Former South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar will retire after the two-match Test series against India. South Africa vs India 2nd Test, starting January 3, is going to be his last Test match.
In a statement, 36-year-old Elgar said that the Cape Town Test is going to be his last as he termed the New Lands' stadis his favourite. Elgar had made his Test debut in Cape Town and he is hoping to score the last at the same venue.
He added that playing cricket has always been his dream and the opportunity to represent his country gave him the ultimate satisfaction.
"As they say, 'all good things come to an end', and the Indian home series will be my last, as I have decided to retire from our beautiful game," he said.
ALSO READ: South Africa vs India Test full schedule, match timings, live streaming
ALSO READ: South Africa vs India Test full schedule, match timings, live streaming
Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa welcomed Elgar's decision to hang up his boots, saying "Elgar will fittingly end his international career with the two Test matches the first to be played at his home ground in Centurion from 26-30 December and the second at the venue where he scored his first Test runs, Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, from 03-07 January."
"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," South Africa's director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe said.
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Elgar's captaincy record for South Africa
The 36-year-old batter led South Africa in 19 Test matches, winning nine and losing seven while four games ended in a draw.
Elgar career stats
As of now, Elgar, who made his Test debut in 2012, has amassed 5146 runs in 84 Tests at an average of 37.28, hitting 13 centuries and 23 fifties.
He also played eight One Day Internationals (ODIs), with his last white-ball appearance coming in 2018. He never represented South Africa in T20 Internationals.
Batting Career Summary | |||||||||||
Format | Matches | Innings | NO | Runs | Highest score | Average | Strike Rate | Hundreds | 50 | 4s | 6s |
Test | 84 | 149 | 10 | 5146 | 199 | 37.02 | 47.38 | 13 | 23 | 654 | 26 |
ODI | 8 | 7 | 1 | 104 | 42 | 17.33 | 58.76 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Bowling Career Summary | |||||||||||
Format | M | Inn | B | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Average | ||
Test | 84 | 45 | 1036 | 673 | 15 | 4/22 | 4/56 | 3.9 | 44.87 | ||
ODI | 8 | 4 | 96 | 67 | 2 | 1/11 | 1/11 | 4.19 | 33.5 |