Van Niekerk makes retirement U-turn after announcing that she will be available to play for South Africa.
Van Niekerk in line for SA comeback after u-turn on retirement.
After being added to the Women’s World Cup training squad, former South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk is expected to make a return to the national team. Van Niekerk made herself available for international selection and announced her retirement from international cricket in March 2023 after missing the home T20 World Cup due to her inability to achieve CSA’s fitness standards.
After fracturing her ankle, Van Niekerk was left off of South Africa’s 2022 ODI World Cup roster and hasn’t played any international cricket since September 2021. At that event, she was supposed to be the team leader, but her recuperation took much longer than anticipated. Although she was eventually scheduled to return in early 2023, she was unable to finish a two-kilometer time trial run in less than 9:30.
Van Niekerk stated last season that he had “no timeline” for returning to international cricket, but he was committed to playing provincial cricket for the entire summer. She scored 179 runs at 59.66 in five fifty-over games for Western Province, but she performed better in the shortest format, ranking fourth in the Pro20 in terms of runs scored. Since then, she has reaffirmed her availability for South Africa.
She may be able to qualify for the World Cup in the subcontinent next month because to her legspin, middle-order experience, and skill.
Due to her involvement at the Hundred, Laura Wolvaardt, who will captain South Africa at the event, is not participating in this week’s training camp. Chloe Tryon and Marizanne Kapp, Van Niekerk’s wife, are also anticipated to join the World Cup squad.