Former Proteas Test batsman Theunis de Bruyn says he will limit his involvement in cricket as he moves into the financial business world.
De Bruyn announced his retirement from international cricket in February.
The right-hander was recalled to the Proteas squad after a three-year absence for the Test series in Australia last season. He scored 12 and 28 in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, but missed the third Test at the SCG after returning to South Africa for the birth of his first child.
He scored 468 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 19.50, including 101 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2018, and also featured in two T20Is.
“I want to move on with my life,” De Bruyn, who has a BCom degree, told Rapport newspaper. “I don’t want to play until I’m 36 or 37 and then try to do something else. I feel it is better to start this new chapter at 30 years old.
“It’s hard to explain, but it feels like I’ve had enough of South African cricket.”
De Bruyn said the tour of Australia had been “the final nail in the coffin” for him and that he had decided to retire from international cricket before the next Proteas Test squad, for the home series against the West Indies, had been selected.
“I’ve always been ambitious, but I’m not bitter,” he added. “I feel privileged to have had a career that I am proud of today.
“I would have liked to achieve a little more, but I am content to live with that regret.”
From next season, De Bruyn will only play domestic white-ball cricket for the Northerns Titans and in the SA20 for the Pretoria Capitals.
“It is now about how much cricket I need to still be competitive in the SA20,” he said. “I have a two-year contract with the Capitals, with the option to renew for a third year.
“It’s not as if I still have to play cricket, and I won’t be on the lookout for opportunities in other T20 leagues. Cricket has been part of my life for a long time, but cricket is not my identity.”
