Surrey signs Hashim Amla on a two-year Kolpak deal
Veteran South African cricketer Hashim Amla has signed a two-year Kolpak deal with Surrey, the same county side as Morne Morkel. Amla had retired from international cricket post the conclusion of the 2019 Cricket World Cup and will join his fellow Protea team-mate Morne Morkel at Surrey until 2021.
Hashim Amla becomes another South African to sign the Kolpak deal, following players like Riley Rossouw, Kyle Abbott, Simon Harmer, Morner Morkel, etc. The veteran will play for Surrey for two seasons with fellow team-mate Morne Morkel. South African captain Faf du Plessis had pointed out experienced players like Amla and Morkel signing the Kolpak deal as a loss for the youngsters back in South Africa. He believed these veterans could have played domestic cricket back home post their retirement and could have provided valuable experience to the youngsters. Nevertheless, it is up to the players to decide what they want to do with their future.
"Surrey are one of the most established and accomplished cricket clubs in the world and I am very excited to be joining them again while also not forgetting the opportunity to play alongside my good friend Morne Morkel again," Amla told CricBuzz.
Amla believes that his outings with Surrey in the past have played a factor in him deciding to sign this deal.
"I was part of the Surrey team in 2013 and 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed myself during those stints, so to rekindle that relationship for a longer period is something that excites me," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to working with Alec Stewart and the rest of his team," he further added.
Amla was more of a late bloomer in international cricket for the Proteas. he remains the only South African who has scored a triple hundred. In ODI's too, Amla showed tremendous consistency. He was the fastest to reach 2000,3000,4000,5000,6000 and 7000 ODI runs. The amount of versatility and experience that he would bring to the Surrey side's youngsters who are in and around the England selectors' radar would be invaluable and Surrey's Director of Cricket Alec Stewart is extremely pleased to have grabbed the Protea veteran.
"With several of our players now in or around the international setup, the opportunity to bring Hashim back to Surrey was too good to ignore," Stewart said.
"His record speaks for itself and we know from his previous spells here that he will be an excellent resource for all of our players to learn from both on and off the field," he concluded.
