SA all-rounder Farhaan Behardien announces retirement

South Africa all-rounder Farhaan Behardien announced his retirement after his 18-year-long career at the professional level, on Tuesday. Behardien took to social media to announce his decision to retire from professional cricket at 39 years of age. Behardien made his first-class debut in 2004 and has decided to call time on his career after 18 years in the game. Behardien had to wait eight years for his South African debut before becoming a regular in the white-ball formats. He played 59 ODIs and 38 T20Is for South Africa, scoring 1592 runs and taking 17 wickets. The all-rounder competed in 2012, 2014, and 2016 ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, as well as the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Behardien also had the opportunity to captain his country when Sri Lanka visited South Africa in January 2017 for a three-match T20I series. He last played for the Proteas in a T20I against Australia in Carrara in November 2018. Announcing his retirement, he said: “The dust has settled a bit. Been pretty emotional the last couple of weeks. 18 years has come and gone. 560 pro games across all formats, including 97 caps for my country, 17 trophies in the cabinet and blessed to have played in 4 world cups. “Thanks to my family and friends who gave unwavering support. Thanks to all the coaches and support staff I’ve come across in my career, all my teammates, boy I’ve played with some of my heroes and some of the greats! “Thanks specifically to the Titans (skyblues) for taking a punt on a young kid all those years ago & giving me a platform to showcase my skill. Thanks to the fans who supported me throughout the years and to those who gave me grief, whichever side of the fence you sat, it fueled my desire nonetheless. I lived my dreams”. “To be honest it wasn’t easy. The good stuff rarely are, but as a result haven’t “worked” a day in 18 years, cause it was my passion and I loved the graft. Feet up for a bit and onto the next challenge. Much love.”