South African great Hashim Amla announces his retirement from all formats of cricket

The legendary South Africa batter Hashim Amla has announced his retirement from all formats of the game. The 39-year-old had already announced retirement from international cricket, but was active in the domestic circuit.

He played 349 international matches for South Africa and scored 18,672 runs across all three formats of the game. 

The top-order batter hit 28 Test centuries in 124 appearances and 27 tons in one-day internationals, and is also recognised as one of the finest players to have represented the Proteas. The Durban-born cricketer was also South Africa’s first triple-centurion, scoring 311 runs against England at The Oval on July 22, 2012.

The cricketer also played for Kings XI Punjab (Now Punjab Kings) in the Indian Premier League and signed up to play for Surrey in 2019. He was a part of the leadership group in the squad and scored tons of runs in county cricket. 

On his farewell, the cricketer thanked Surrey for the opportunity that he got and wished them luck for the future.

“I have great memories of the Oval ground and to finally leave it as a player fills me with immense gratitude for what has been. A sincere thank you to Alec Stewart and the entire Surrey staff, players and members for their support. The Surrey ship runs so professionally that it would make any international player feel a sense of honour just to be involved with. I wish them all the best and many more trophies,” Amla said.

After making his debut for South Africa in 2004, Amla was consistent in the playing XI so much so that only Jacques Kallis has more Test runs than the veteran. He was a key player in the Proteas squad for many years, but unfortunately failed to win an ICC trophy during his relevancy for South Africa.

Alec Stewart, who worked with Amla throughout his stint for Surrey, hailed Amla after his announcement and also called him ‘a true professional and a great of the game’.

“Hashim is a fantastic cricketer and a wonderful person. He has been an incredible resource for the team to learn from on and off the field. As well as posting big scores at vital moments, he has also shown his willingness to dig in and do what is needed to get his team a result in tough games.

I can’t thank him enough for what he has done for Surrey and hold him up as an example to all young players of what a true professional looks like,” Stewart said.

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