Should Hashim Amla retire from international cricket?

Hashim Amla is one of South Africa’s greatest cricketing servants of his generation, but has become the latest high-profile player to be left out of the squad shortly set to play Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series.

The South Africans generally tend to dominate teams from the sub-continent on their fast home wickets, but this series promises to be competitive. The Proteas are currently coming off a shock 2-0 test series defeat against their opponents.

In spite of Amla’s axing from the squad, Cricket South Africa national panel convener Linda Zondi has stressed that the player’s international career is not over, hinting that he could play a role for the Proteas during their upcoming World Cup campaign.

Amla is South Africa’s fourth-highest run scorer in ODIs, with 7910, and boasts a national record with 27 centuries. However, Amla’s performances have been uncharacteristically below-par for over a year now. Since the start of 2018, he has averaged just 35.26 in 16 ODI innings, scoring just one century and three fifties during that time.

During the height of his career, the Mighty Hash used to average well above 50 and was one of the most prolific players in world cricket. He certainly looks like a shadow of the player that he once was and at his age, it is hard to see him rediscovering his touch that once made him one of the most feared batsmen in cricket.

That being said, the South Africans may still want to take him as part of their squad, considering his experience and previous successes in England, a country they have historically struggled to play well in. If one thing is for sure, it’s that the 2019 World Cup should be Amla’s last. He could technically go to another major tournament, but this should, considering his lack of form and the fact he’ll turn 36 this year, be his last.