The South African cricket authority has struggled to keep the best of their players to stick to the national side with county cricket luring them in without much hassle. The Kolpak deal has allowed England to bring in players from countries in contracts with EU nations to be fielded as their own and not categorized as overseas players.
A few cricketing authorities in the world have made it a mandate that if their players are playing for franchise cricket in other nations, this will debar them from playing franchise cricket in their own nation or participate in the international affair altogether.
One of the countries that have suffered the major brunt of this weird rule is the Rainbow Nation where reckoning cricketers have actually given up their international assignments to be a part of the county cricket.
In this story, we will take a look at five cricketers who resigned from international cricket to play county cricket in England.
#1 Hashim Amla
The bearded virtuoso who got etched in the fabric of South African cricket with an extraordinary display of his signature leg-glance and a vintage cover-drive, Hashim Amla rose to the peak of the world with unrivaled batting majesty. He is also the first South African to score a reckoning triple-century for South Africa in the longest format of the sport. He squeezed his very best for his nation, starring in 349 international matches that saw him garnering 18672 runs which is no mean feat for any batsman in the world. However, he decided to give up his international duties to be a part of the Surrey cricket team. He also has an extremely impressive legacy in List A and First Class cricket that brags about 28498 runs. No wonder, he is savouring a remarkable stint with Surrey too.
#2 Kyle Abbott
Abbott had a lot of promise when he was chosen to play for the national side. Sadly, he failed to live up to the expectations of the nation and his international career was confined to a handful of matches. He was termed as one of the most promising bowlers for South Africa but shortly nosedived into a steep decline. He fell short of the hallowed 100 scalps by whiskers as he stopped at 99. He gave up his national dream to join Hampshire and he has shown some steady consistency ever since. His List A and FC career has been equally shining with 628 wickets overall. He also chronicled the best bowling figures in county cricket with numbers for 17 for 56 since 1956.
#3 Rilee Rossouw
The elegant strokeplayer suffered the ire of his national team coach when he opted to exercise the Kolpak deal to star for Hampshire. Rossouw had a questionable start to his career and was subjected to severe flak with five ducks on the bounce. However, considerable support from the team management and the preceptor himself helped the batsman to unlock an explosive side of his that left the world in awe. Despite gaining traction in the latter half of his career, he didn’t really feel obliged to continue with his national obligations and switched his loyalty to Hampshire. He amassed 13009 runs in first-class and List A cricket combined and no wonder Hampshire purchased the big-hitting South African.
#4 Vernon Philander
One of the most experienced fast bowlers of South Africa in the longest format of the sport, Philander has agreed on personal terms with Somerset. However, being candid he has already left his best for his nation and hasn’t got much to offer to the likes of South Africa. He has been a bowling all-rounder and stood the test of time with 224 Test scalps and 1779 runs. He was chosen to play for South Africa in the ODI’s and T20’s but his most intimidating incarnation arrived in the longest format of cricket.
#5 Duanne Olivier
When Olivier stepped up for his nation he brought along with himself an insane amount of promise. He starred in 10 Test matches and bowled in 20 innings which saw him claiming 48 scalps at an average of 19.33. His figures in List A and First Class cricket combined reads 537 wickets. After not really being able to live up to the billing that was saddled onto him, he chose to switch his allegiance to Yorkshire and has so far displayed a decent showdown for the Yorks.
