Dane van Niekerk Retirement: Former South African Women’s cricket team captain Dane van Niekerk has confirmed her retirement from all forms of international cricket and also confirms that she will continue to play in T20 leagues.
Dane van Niekerk Confirms International Retirement
Van Niekerk last represented her country in 2021. The former skipper was a notable omission from their squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023. Van Niekerk failed to pass the fitness benchmark set by Cricket South Africa and was left out of the Proteas’ 15-player squad for the T20 World Cup at home.
Dane van Niekerk made her debut at 16 years of age in March 2009, during the World Cup match against the West Indies at Newcastle.
Due to an ankle injury, Dane van Niekerk has been ruled out of action for a period of three months which lead her to miss the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
Dane van Niekerk Retirement Statement
Announcing her retirement, Dane said, “It has been the greatest honour to lead and represent my country. I am incredibly blessed to have led the team through its transformative years.
I look back on my career fondly and have made incredible memories. Often the journey can be lonely, painful, and emotional, but would not change it for anything. I’m grateful for what this game has given me.”
She was the first bowler for South Africa to take 100 wickets in WODIs. She further added, “To all the players that I had the privilege to have shared the dressing room and competed with, I will hold on to the memories dearly.
We are merely custodians of this sport; I hand it over knowing I have given it my everything and that women’s cricket is in a better place than when I arrived. That must be the responsibility of the new group, to always make sure you are improving and making a difference.”
She concluded by saying, “It is time for me to support the new leadership and wish them all the very best. There is no doubt that the women’s game is in an exciting space and looking forward to seeing this beautiful game that I love grow.”
Dane van Niekerk married her teammate Marizanne Kapp on July 2018. During her career, Dane van Niekerk has played 1 Test, 107 ODIs and 86 T20I matches and scored 22, 2175, and 1877 runs respectively. She also bagged 1, 138, and 65 wickets in Tests, ODI and T20I respectively.
In WPL 2023 Auction, Dane van Niekerk was brought by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the price of 30 Lakhs.
