Kyle Abbott's South Africa career comes to an end

What’s the story?

Kyle Abbott has played his last international match for South Africa. Faf du Plessis, the South African Test captain confirmed the news after the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Newlands.

The speculations were rife for some days now and they were confirmed when talks between the bowler and Cricket South Africa (CSA) broke down.

"February would be four years since my international debut. Ever since I played in South Africa, at every level, there has always been a quota system. I have never used it as an excuse and I won't now. I need to pay bills, I need to buy groceries,” Abbott said.

This statement explains the entire scenario in a gist.

In case you didn’t know...

Kyle Abbott has signed a Kolpak deal with English county, Hampshire. This makes him ineligible to play for the Proteas.

There has been a rising concern of players being attracted by lucrative deals and better professional opportunities over the passion of playing for their country. Kyle Abbott becomes the latest entrant to this list.

Cricket South Africa has been marred by political controversies over the past few years. Abbott had to be left out of the 2015 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in favour of an under-performing Vernon Philander to fulfil the necessary racial quota in the playing XI. The South Africans lost the semifinal and CSA had to face immense criticism for its policy from all over the world.

The heart of the matter

Players are die-hard professionals and dream of playing for their country at the highest level. But with political problems, it leaves them helpless and their dream, a distinct one.

Kyle Abbott has enjoyed a good run with the South African national team. He was a member of the playing XI in their current series against Sri Lanka and played against Australia earlier this season. But he was left out of the side for quite a while prior to that. The 29-year-old fast bowler has played only 10 Tests for South Africa since making his debut in March 2013.

What next?

Abbott will not be seen playing for South Africa again. His last Test match in the South African whites was the second Test against Sri Lanka which finished today.

South Africa has tough tours of England and New Zealand later this year and the team management will want to have a look at other available fast bowling options to replace Abbott. The Proteas have Wayne Parnell as a reserve seamer in the squad for the third match of the series against Sri Lanka.

Sportskeeda’s take

Alviro Petersen, Jacques Rudolph and Rory Kleinveldt are some of the names who left South Africa and went on to make a mark at the domestic level in England. The CSA must not let politics affect its functioning with professional players facing the brunt.

A sporting body must treat a player on merit and should not be influenced by other conditions. Such ill-framed policies will not promote the development of sport in the country and will instead promote “player drain.”