Johan Botha a South African all-rounder, who last played in the World T20 in 2012 for the Proteas, has announced his immediate retirement from all forms of the game
The announcement was made by the 36 year old Botha after Hobart Hurricanes' loss to the Sydney Sixers in the The Big Bash League (BBL) at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Wednesday night.
Hobart Hurricanes were represented by the off spinner in the league for a long time, but has had to cut his stint short, citing wear and tear in his body and sheer physical fatigue, said by Hurricanes.
South Africa had also been represented by the all-rounder in more than 100 matches across several formats in more than 100 matches. Botha led the Proteas side in 21 matches. Across the globe, he played for countless T20 franchises.
His 19 year long career had been very interesting. Botha started as a medium-pacer, then, became an off-spinner, again re-model his action in the view of questions over his bowling action.
He appeared in whites for five times for South Africa, in which 17 wickets were taken by him with a 3.38 economy at an average of 33.70.
He played 78 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and scored 609 runs with an average of 19.03. The former captain also represented South Africa in shorter format of the game for 40 times in which he accumulated 201 runs and took 37 scalps.
He carried on playing in T20 leagues, racking up almost 500 professional games, and grabbing over 500 wickets. At 2011 Men's Cricket World Cup, he was one of the South Africa's stand-out performers, maintaining a miserly economy rate of 4.07 runs per over, while his abilities under pressure are further emphasised by his two Player of the Match performances in T20Is, in thrilling one-run and three-run wins against West Indies and New Zealand in 2010 and 2012.