Hashim Amla announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Former South Africa batter Hashim Amla has announced his retirement from professional cricket, having confirmed to Surrey that he won’t be returning for another stint. The 39-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2019, was a consistent performer for the club and helped them win the County Championship title last season.

In a career that lasted over 20 years, the right-handed batter crafted 19521 runs in 265 first-class encounters at an average of 48.55, studded with 57 hundreds and 93 fifties. Overall, Amla amassed over 34,000 runs across three formats.

In 124 Tests, Amla slammed 9282 runs at an average of 46.64, decorated with 28 centuries and 41 fifties. Only Jacques Kallis scored more Test runs than him for South Africa. Amla even scored 8113 runs in 181 ODIs and 1277 runs in 44 T20Is before announcing his retirement from international cricket after the 2019 World Cup. 

He had already announced his Test retirement earlier that year. Amla then rejoined Surrey, having played for them in 2013 and 2014, and hit five centuries in his last two seasons. He also had stints with Derbyshire, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire and Essex.

"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," Amla said.

"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."

Talking about Amla, Stewart said: "Everyone at Surrey County Cricket Club will be sad to see Hashim retire, but we all applaud what has been a phenomenal career. He will quite rightly go down as 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.

"Everyone at Surrey wishes him the best in the future, and I am sure all our Members and supporters would like to thank him for his time here and congratulate him on such a decorated career."

He is currently MI Cape Town's batting coach in the ongoing SA20, and there are also some reports that he could become the new batting coach for South Africa.