There have been many instances in the past where cricketers came out of retirement and played domestic cricket and T20 leagues. Players like Shahid Afridi and Kevin Pietersen made a comeback after calling it quits. There is a new addition to that list now, after former South Africa cricketer announced that he will be coming out of retirement and will resume playing cricket.
The unavailability of Lamichhane has opened the doors for Botha to be a part of BBL once again. The spinner has had his fair share of BBL experience playing for Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers in the past. Botha was a part of Adelaide Strikers from 2012-2014 and then went on to play for Sydney Sixers from 2015-2018. His experience will definitely come in handy for the Hobart Hurricanes.
Botha moved from South Africa to Australia
Johan Botha was once a part of South African team and provided his services as a spinner. However, Botha got Australian citizenship four years ago and has been coaching Tasmania. The former South Africa spinner will be engaging in the Big Bash League representing Hobart Hurricanes. The Hurricanes need a quick replacement for Sandeep Lamichhane who has tested positive for COVID-19.
After his retirement, Botha has been active as a coach working with Tasmania and currently occupied with Karachi Kings of Pakistan Super League as an assistant coach. When asked, Botha said he had to make a choice between his coaching career or contributing to a team as a player. He feels he could still make a contribution for a team.
“It was a choice between ‘Do I further my coaching career, or do I miss the first couple of games of the Pakistan Super League?’ I figured I’m as fit as I’ve ever been, and I feel I can still make a contribution to the team. I’ve missed playing, but I didn’t really want to put it out there and say ‘can you pick me’ in case it didn’t work out, so we kept it quiet from when we first chatted about it at the Shield hub in Adelaide, and it slowly built up from there,” said Botha to News18.
Botha comes with a useful international experience under his belt as he played 78 ODIs, 40 T20Is and 5 Test matches while representing South Africa. Needless to say, the Hurricanes will be delighted to have a player who comes with a lot of reputation and knows exactly what to do in the crunch situation.