An emotional Kyle Abbott sat in front of press at Newlands on Thursday and opened up on his decision to abandon the Proteas and sign a four-year Kolpak deal with English county side Hampshire.
Since making his Test debut back in 2013 against Pakistan at Centurion, the 29-year-old has featured just 11 times. Abbott says he signed the Hampshire deal "around five months ago" and that he had planned to break the news after the current series against Sri Lanka.
Instead, the story was leaked mid-second Test in Cape Town, forcing Abbott to come clean to his team-mates. As a result, his contract with CSA has been immediately terminated and he will not be considered for the third Test in Johannesburg starting on January 12. Abbott will be joined by Proteas limited over batsman Rilee Rossouw, who has also signed a Kolpak deal, at Hampshire.
Since making his Test debut back in 2013 against Pakistan at Centurion, the 29-year-old has featured just 11 times. Abbott says he signed the Hampshire deal "around five months ago" and that he had planned to break the news after the current series against Sri Lanka.
Instead, the story was leaked mid-second Test in Cape Town, forcing Abbott to come clean to his team-mates. As a result, his contract with CSA has been immediately terminated and he will not be considered for the third Test in Johannesburg starting on January 12. Abbott will be joined by Proteas limited over batsman Rilee Rossouw, who has also signed a Kolpak deal, at Hampshire.
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