Dane van Niekerk: RCB star shares cryptic message, set to retire from international cricket

South African women's cricket team star Dane van Niekerk is set to retire from international cricket as her most recent post on social media indicates towards that.

Through a cryptic Instagram message on her account, Van Niekerk expressed her wish for retirement from international duties. Despite the absence of any official announcement, it looks certain the Proteas stalwart will bid adieu from international cricket with immediate effect.

"You have to accept that some chapters in our lives have to close without closures. There is no point in losing yourself by trying to fix what's meant to stay broken," van Niekerk wrote on her Instagram profile on Saturday (March 11).

Dane van Niekerk's controversial end

Dane van Niekerk hasn't played for South Africa since her accident at the start of last year. She missed the 50-over World Cup due to injury, and most recently she was dropped from the South Africa squad for the Women's T20 World Cup due to not meeting fitness requirements. Van Niekerk missed the fitness mark by 18 seconds and as a result, she was not included in the squad.

Her controversial exile from the team created a lot of uproars, but now it seems the relationship is untenable between the player and CSA.

Niekerk has led South Africa in 50 ODIs and 30 T20Is and has been a stellar performer for the Proteas.

Dane van Niekerk South Africa Career:

Dane van Niekerk made her South Africa debut in 2009. Since then, she has played 107 ODIs, scoring 2175 runs and picking up 138 wickets.

In T20I cricket, van Niekerk has 86 appearances, scoring 1877 runs and picking up 65 wickets.

The South African stalwart is married to her fellow Proteas teammate Marizanne Kapp who made an emotional post on Instagram after Niekerk's unofficial announcement. The pair are currently in India for the WPL, with van Niekerk representing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kapp playing for the Delhi Capitals.