South Africa coach Shukri Conrad has spoken about why Dean Elgar will retire from Test cricket after the India series. He said lack of cricket is the main reason why the veteran opener decided to end his career.
Dean Elgar surprised many when he made it known that he would be hanging up his boots after the Test series against India. The former Test captain has been a boon for South Africa in the longest format of the game. Playing only one format, it was expected that he would play a little more, but that was not the case.
Dean Elgar’s 12-year international career will come to an end on January 7, when the Test series against India concludes. The series will begin on December 26 at their home stadium in Centurion and then end in Cape Town, where the second match will be played on January 3.
Dean Elgar has played a huge role in South Africa’s Test success over the last decade. He played many winners and will go down as one of the best openers in the longest format of the game. He also captained the team and under him, South Africa finished third in the ICC World Test Championship in the 2021-23 cycle.
Shukri Conrad spoke about Dean Elgar’s decision and said that he and the batsman agreed that they are not playing much Test cricket and that young players are not getting opportunities. Speaking to reporters, he explained:
“The fact that we don’t have much Test cricket is part of the reason we made the decision we made. Ideally, we would like to play more Test cricket because the more Test cricket we play, the more opportunities we will have to blood cricketers for the future.
“If we have less Tests, that means I have very few blood opportunities for young cricketers. “Sometimes we come to decisions like Dean’s now because of the lack of cricket and the lack of opportunities to blood young players.”
Shukri Conrad praised Dean Elgar’s fighting and never-give-up attitude, saying that if any of the youngsters have half his quality then they will be in a good space. He added:
“Dean epitomizes what a South African cricketer is and almost what a South African person is: resilience, dogfighting, pride in performance and that ability to never back down. These are all elements that Dean has brought to his extensive international and top-level career and to all the teams he has played for.
“Hopefully, if some of the young guys who are going to step into those big shoes, have half the characteristics and qualities that Dean had, then we’ll be in a good space.”
IND vs SA: Hopefully we can give him the perfect send-off – Shukri Conrad on Dean Elgar
Shukri Conrad spoke more about the conversation he had with Dean Elgar. He also highlighted the importance of the series and hoped that his team manages to give a good farewell to the veteran batsman. He explained:
“The conversation, the decision and the results have been exactly as Dean and I discussed. I’m not at all surprised that we are at the place where Dean decided to retire against India.
“I feel very comfortable and excited to have Dean available for this series. It’s a huge series for us as a team. It’s a great series for Dean. And it’s going to be quite emotional. Hopefully, we can also give him the perfect send-off.”
Dean Elgar has so far played 84 Tests. The 36-year-old has amassed 5,146 runs, including 13 centuries and 23 fifties. He would hope to finish his career on a high and win the final test series of his career.
