Former South Africa cricketer Johan Botha granted Australian citizenship

Former South African batsman and off-spinner Johan Botha has been granted Australian citizenship after meeting the requirements for being a resident for four years or more. Botha last played for South Africa in 2012 but was released from his contract with the Central South African board after a few weak performances with both bat and ball.

Botha has also captained the Proteas on several occasions one that sees him as captain of the side for 11 ODIs and 10 Tests. He was also a part of the 2012 World T20 that was played in Sri Lanka but a few weak performances in the tournament saw him become a liability to the Proteas as they looked for an overhaul in the grand scheme of things at the time.

Following his release, he then moved to South Australia to take over as captain of the South Australia side in the domestic scene. He has also featured in all of the five seasons of the Big Bash League that have been organized thus far and has 22 wickets to his name in 35 outings. He will turn out for the Sixers in the upcoming tournament. The Sixers confirmed that Botha will be classified as a local player in the tournament.

In spite of playing just the 5 Test matches for the Proteas, the fact of the matter remains that Botha was always considered to be a limited overs player. As a bowler, he could vary his pace at will and trouble the batsmen while he was also a handy batsman when it came to adding a few quick runs at the close of the innings.

He played 78 ODIs for South Africa and 40 T20 internationals as well. Now, at the age of 34, it seems quite clear that most of his activities in terms of cricket would come only in the Australian domestic scene. However, the fact of the matter remains that he could very well turn out for Australia should they find a requirement for a spinner with supremely vast experience.