In a major development, one of South Africa cricket’s biggest names, Dean Elgar, came forward and announced that he will be retiring from professional cricket at the end of the ongoing season.
He revealed that he will be hanging up his boots when the 2026 County Championship season comes to an end.
At 39 years old, Elgar is undoubtedly one of the most experienced players currently active in South Africa cricket. After enjoying almost 12 years at the top order for the Proteas, Elgar went on to score 5.347 runs to his name in 86 Test matches, maintaining an average of 37.92 runs. He also smashed 14 centuries to his name in the 86 Test matches as well.
Going on to lead the Proteas on 18 occasions, including his final Test match, where he led the side against India when he stepped in for an injured Temba Bavuma back in 2024.
As the opportunities for South Africa became increasingly hard to come by, Elgar stepped back from international cricket and signed for Essex, where he has proven to be an ideal replacement for Alastair Cook for the last three years.
Elgar came forward and opened up on his decision
After announcing his decision to eventually retire, Dean Elgar took centre stage and opened up about his career. He talked about how he feels that it is the right time for him and how at 39 years old, he is not getting any younger.
“I feel it’s the right time for me now. I’m not getting any younger, 39 years old, and I’ve got a lot of things going on back home with regards to a young but growing-up-very-quickly family. It’s the right time for me now to be present at home and be there for my partner and my kids,” Elgar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“It’s been a great journey so far. It’s not done yet, but at the end of the season, I will be retiring. I was fortunate enough to represent my country for twelve years and then the responsibility of captaining [South Africa] – that’s one of the proudest moments of my career,” he added.