South African Megastar Ends 14-Year Long International Career
Dane van Niekerk first played for South Africa in 2009 (Twitter)
In a heartbreaking development, South African legendary women's cricketer and former captain, Dane van Niekerk, has retired herself from international cricket. The 29-year-old recently went through a heartbreak when she was not included in the squad the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 squad, which later played the final of the tournament.
In a cryptic Instagram story posted on Saturday evening, the all-rounder hinted at her retirement from the international level, writing, "You have to accept that some chapters in our lives have to close without closure."
She further said: "There's no point in losing yourself by trying to fix what's meant to stay broken."
It is understood that van Niekerk has decided to cut her strings with Cricket South Africa after being controversially left out of T20 World Cup's squad.
Her partner and Proteas international, Marizanne Kapp, also uploaded a post on her social media handles, captioning it "End of an era.. 💔🥹".
The former Proteas skipper is currently in Mumbai, India, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL 2023).
After representing South Africa in 194 matches and captaining them in 80 games, van Niekerk will go down as one of the most brilliant all-rounders and the sharpest captains of all time. In her 14-year-long career, she amassed over 4000 runs and snapped 204 wickets with her leg-spin.
 "Arjun Bhalla")
