Somerset lead the race to sign Vernon Philander on a Kolpak deal

Vernon Philander, the right arm has pacer from South Africa announced that he will bid adieu to cricket after playing four-match Test series against England that will begin from 26th of December. It was a surprising decision taken by the pacer as the Proteas have been struggling after the retirement of several senior players. However, now Philander is on the verge of penning down a Kolpak deal with Somerset.

The right-arm pacer donned South African jersey in 60 Tests, 30 ODIs and 7 T20Is in which he successfully grabbed 261 wickets across all the formats. Earlier, this year Dale Steyn, hung his boots in the longer format and Philander was given the responsibility to lead the attack being the senior-most in the side. But, out of the blue, he has taken a surprising call, leaving his fans and country in shock.

South Africa might sign a Kolpak deal

Somerset had recently signed Mathew Wade as one of the overseas players for the first seven games of County Championship fixtures of 2020. Now, they are in search of a fast bowler and Philander looks like the perfect recipient for that role. Moreover, after taking retirement from the national cricket team, he would be free to play County cricket as a local player. Ahead of the pacer, Hashim Amla is the latest player who has signed Kolpak deal with Surrey.

After announcing retirement date, Philander said that he is privileged and honoured to have played for the country for 12 long years. He thanked all the coaches, staff members and South Africa cricket board for showing their support. But, currently, he is just focussing to help his side in defeating England in the upcoming series.

‘I want to give thanks to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with the opportunity to represent my country for the last 12 years. It has been an honour and privilege to have played alongside the very best in the game. Thank you must also go to Cricket South Africa, the Cobras, all the coaches, management, captains and team-mates and the very special fans from all over the world for your love and support. My entire focus and energy at this time is to help the Proteas beat England which I am really looking forward to,” Philander said as quoted by Daily Mail.

Watch: Junior Dala’s perfect yorker to Chris Gayle in MSL 2019