South Africa cricketer Hashim Amla announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday. He last played for Surrey in the County Championship 2022 and helped them win the title as well. The right-handed batter had already retired from international cricket after the World Cup in 2019. Counted as a legend of the game, he hammered a total of 55 international tons and is at the sixth position in the list of batters with most hundreds in cricket.
In their prime, the pair of AB De Villiers and Hashim Amla was one of the most fearsome in world cricket. While Amla oozed class and seemed to caress the ball while hitting, De Villiers was like a blazing fire with his explosive shots. In a post on Twitter, De Villiers reminisced the moments spent on the field alongside teammate Amla and wished if he could bat with the legendary cricketer one more time.
"Hashim Amla.. where do I start?! Not easy. Might take me a few days, weeks, months, years.I can literally write a book about you. Humaam, thank you for always being there for me. You’ve always been a brother who made me feel safe in so many ways," wrote De Villiers.
"Your journey wasn’t easy. “The guy with the weird technique”. “He’ll never last”. “He’ll never be consistent”. But then, in your own very unique way, you just walked out there, time and time again and just batted, like only you can. Calm, composed, consistent, gutsy, skilful and humble, always for the team, for your country. You inspired me in a way I can’t explain," continued De Villiers.
{{/usCountry}}"Your journey wasn’t easy. “The guy with the weird technique”. “He’ll never last”. “He’ll never be consistent”. But then, in your own very unique way, you just walked out there, time and time again and just batted, like only you can. Calm, composed, consistent, gutsy, skilful and humble, always for the team, for your country. You inspired me in a way I can’t explain," continued De Villiers.
{{/usCountry}}"So, today, I salute you my friend. You served the game to perfection! We can all learn from that. I did. I wish I could bat with you one more time," he concluded.
In Test cricket, 39-year-old Amla played 124 matches and scored 9282 runs including 28 tons and four double centuries. His highest Test score is an unbeaten 311 against England at the Kia Oval in 2012 and it was the first triple-century by a South Africa batter in Tests. In ODIs, he took part in 181 matches and scored 8113 runs at an average of 49.47 with 27 hundreds and 39 half-centuries to his name.
Amla has already started working in a different role in cricket, with a stint as MI Cape Town's batting coach in the ongoing SA20.