Former captain Dane van Niekerk hints at Proteas retirement after cryptic post

Dane van Niekerk, one of the Proteas' greatest-ever women's cricketers, hinted at retirement from international cricket following a cryptic social media post, while a report suggested the decision has already been made.

ESPNcricinfo reported on Saturday that Van Niekerk "is retiring from international cricket" following her controversial snub from the Proteas squad that made the T20 World Cup final held in South Africa last month.

What an era?????? https://t.co/SgEapan9gT

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The former Proteas Women skipper missed out on selection after failing a fitness test by 18 seconds, which prompted a split in public opinion about whether a player of her experience, stature and ability should have been allowed to play despite failing a fitness benchmark all players had to adhere to.

She posted an image on her Instagram account with the words: "You have to accept that some chapters in our lives have to close without closure. There is no point in losing yourself by trying to fix what's meant to stay broken." 

She also reposted her wife and Proteas teammate Marizanne Kapp's tweet which said, simply, "End of an era".

"What an era," Van Niekerk wrote on Twitter before adding Kapp's tweet to her Instagram profile as well.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Cricket South Africa (CSA) was yet to be informed by Van Niekerk, who is at the Women's Indian Premier League, of her reported decision to retire.

News24 approached CSA for comment, which will be added to the article once received.

Van Niekerk last played for SA in September 2021 and suffered the heartache of missing out on the last 50-over Women's World Cup held in Australia after breaking her ankle through a