Dane van Niekerk revokes international retirement

Former South African captain Dane van Niekerk has revoked her retirement from the game, the player announced in a social media post on August 25 (Monday).

"I'm thrilled to announce that I have decided to revoke my retirement from international cricket. The time away has reminded me just how much I have missed representing my country and I am fully committed to giving everything to once again have that opportunity," she said on Instagram.

The ex-South Africa captain had retired in 2023 at the age of 29 having failed to make the squad for a home T20 World Cup, after not meeting the fitness requirements meant for selection. Sune Luus took over captaincy for that tournament.

Van Niekerk made 194 appearances for South Africa (107 ODIs, 86 T20Is and 1 Test). She scored 4074 runs and picked 204 wickets in her international career. She also led South Africa in 50 ODIs and 30 T20Is with the team winning 29 and 15 games respectively under her captaincy.

While being one of South Africa's mainstays, she was marred with injuries during the Covid period. She suffered a lower back injury in 2020 which kept her out for most of the year and on the cusp of the ICC World Cup in 2022 in New Zealand, she suffered an ankle injury which ruled her out of the tournament.

Van Niekerk, now 32, also apologized to Cricket South Africa (CSA) for the way she handled her retirement and was hopeful of representing South Africa once again. "I sincerely apologise to Cricket South Africa and the cricket family for how I handled my retirement, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to hopefully one day express my skills again on the international stage."