Hashim Amla leaving for Kolpak

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King_Rio

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Does anyone else think its sad for SA, but good for him to sign a Kolpak deal and make some good money in the UK whilst he can still play top form cricket?

He is already 34, but SA will miss him terribly...

I say, go for it Hash if it will be good for you; you deserve it!

It has not been confirmed yet, but iol has written a story saying a deal has been arranged...

More about Kolpak deals here:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/1075718.html
 
WaxLyrical said:
Not really.
He can still play for us during the English county off season which is usually our summer.

This is not a quota decision but more an investment for the future.

Good luck to him.
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As I understood it a player may not play for his country once he signs the kolpak?

Edit:

From the link shared above:
Can a Kolpak player play for his own country while playing for an English county?
No. A player must give up his right to play for his country during the length of his deal with a county.

Can a player play domestic cricket in both England and his home country when on a Kolpak deal?
Yes, but he can only play in the English off season. His English county has to be his priority.

Can a Kolpak player come back to playing for his country of birth?
Yes, once his contract with the English county expires or is terminated. Jacques Rudolph signed a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire in 2007 after being dropped from the South African team in 2006. He was released from it in 2010 and played again for South Africa in 2011.

Can a Kolpak player play for England?
Kolpak players over 18 do not qualify to play for England till they have played seven years for a county and have gained citizenship. This was increased from four years in 2012.
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Has this been confirmed? The last I heard it was only a rumor (which very well may be true)
 
Thats the last component which will officially end our golden era of players (for now). Good luck to him
 
jouda said:
As I understood it a player may not play for his country once he signs the kolpak?

Edit:

From the link shared above:
Click to expand...
Only for the duration of the contract. He can sign up for 1 season with say Yorkshire and then return to play tests here in the summer or tour Australia.

Won't be able to tour the subcontinent or West Indies tho.
 
WaxLyrical said:
Only for the duration of the contract. He can sign up for 1 season with say Yorkshire and then return to play tests here in the summer or tour Australia.

Won't be able to tour the subcontinent or West Indies tho.
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Hmmm I hear you, what are the odds of only a one year/one season contract being signed?
 
jouda said:
Hmmm I hear you, what are the odds of only a one year/one season contract being signed?
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I think it might've been offered to him and he took it. Hash has no reason or the character to jump ship.

Will be very surprised if its an extended contract that effectively ends his test career.
 
Can't blame him. Makes financial sense. He gave his best for SA cricket and was one of our best batsmen of all time if you look at his stats. His form has been off the last while so I think its a good time to step down a rung, make some money, and then tackle the rest of his life.
 
At best we can keep him for 2 more years, is it really worth the money to keep him? Are there any young players in domestic cricket who we can nurture in the same time period for his role?
 
And to think just a few years ago, we had a top order of Smith, Gibbs, Amla, Kallis. How times change.

Good luck to him. I think this may be the end if his SA career. He's not a selfish man by any standards but he does have a young family to consider and I think he will do what's best for them.
 
I'm missing the golden age of our cricket and its sad to see where the team is headed. When you had players like Kallis who was not only a top batsman but also a useful bowler and one of the best slip fielders in the world you kind of took him for granted. Players like that are so rare and give so much flexibility to the captain in terms of selection. The brilliant all rounder role that only the likes of Kallis, Pollock, etc could pull off. We have run out of that level talent, with the possible exception of Quintin de Kock. Right now we seem to have specialist batsmen who can barely bat reliably, a decent bowling line up but without the all rounder bowlers who could also reliably average something decent with the bat. Just look at the impact of someone like Moen Ali on the England team's results for instance. We currently have just an average side I feel. Our top players are on their last legs and not performing well and slowly being dropped. The new caps are not really finding their feet. We also are giving the chance to older players instead of new talent (with the exception of the likes of Rabada and Quintin.

I just feel like it's time for the side to focus a bit on building up the next generation of talent, and let the past go. We also need a massive focus on batting and all rounder talent. The specialist bowlers seem to be about the best part of the team right now with Rabada, Morkel, etc doing fairly well. The concerning part is the new head coach is a specialist bowling coach, again, is that really the direction we need to go?
 
I made a comment in another thread that Test cricket is dying a slow death and won't be around by 2030.
If we're not producing greats what's the point of watching the game. We all tune into the 5 day format to watch the greats like Hash grind it out or Steyn with his fiery spells.

Our future cricketers are psyched up and motivated by what T20 can give you - riches and fame with not much effort.

There's a reason why Australia can't build on their Golden age where they were unstoppable and there's not much in the bank either. Their best batsman is Steven Smith and that's it.

All the other top players like Finch are already Pro20 specialists. He's current the hero.
 
WaxLyrical said:
Not really.
He can still play for us during the English county off season which is usually our summer.

This is not a quota decision but more an investment for the future.

Good luck to him.
Click to expand...

No he can't. Kolpak means no more national team.
 
So he'll be 36 come CWC2019. I wonder if he'll make himself available. Guys like Mike Hussey, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Murali showed you can be competitive well into your 30's so here's hoping he's still raking in the runs...
 
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