Proteas pace sensation Duanne Olivier left the Cricket South Africa (CSA) in a state of shock as he rejected the national contract on Tuesday. Moreover, the 26-year-old has decided to bid adieu to his international career after signing a three-year deal with county side Yorkshire, pending clearance of Kolpak regulations.
Olivier’s departure will be a major blow for the Proteas. As per several reports, the competition for a place in the side and his nation still working on the quota system (which allows picking an average of six players of colour in the first XI) has forced him to chose the comparative security of English domestic cricket.
“I came over to the UK last year and thoroughly enjoyed my time playing county cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Yorkshire.
“I have since realised I could happily base myself there for the foreseeable future. I was originally looking to come back as an overseas player, but when I got a long-term offer from Yorkshire as a Kolpak, I knew that signing for the club would be the best option for both me and my family,” he added.
“I would be lying if I said this wasn’t a difficult decision to make,” he added. “It’s giving up playing for my country, with no guarantees of playing international cricket again. But at the end of the day, I needed to be true to myself,” he further added.
On the other hand, CSA has expressed utter disappointment after Olivier’s shocking move.
“We find it extremely disappointing that Duanne has taken this step after all the opportunities we have given him, particularly over the past season and going forward, to live his dream of being an international cricketer,” said CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe.
Making his debut in January 2017, Olivier toiled hard to find a permanent place in the South African dressing room. In December 2018, he was picked up for the Test series against Pakistan and he returned with 24 scalps under his belt from 3 matches.