South Africa’s top-order batsman Rassie van der Dussen has announced his retirement from international cricket.
The 36-year-old, who is on a hybrid central contract with Cricket South Africa (CSA), is not retained beyond the 2026-27 season and has not represented the national team for seven months.
He will continue to play for his domestic team the Lions and Franchise Cricket and has pledged to “teach and mentor the next generation of South African cricketers”.
In an Instagram post shared on Thursday morning, van der Dussen reflected on his international journey and confirmed his decision to retire from the world stage, expressing deep pride and gratitude for representing his country at the highest level.
“It is with a proud heart and deep gratitude that I announce my retirement from international cricket,” Duchene wrote.
“Putting on the Proteas jersey is an achievement that demands a level of resilience and commitment that both tests you and rewards you in the most incredible way. Playing for my country is the greatest honor of my life,” he added.
He thanked the Lions executives, CSA’s coaches, his agent Chris Cardoso and his wife Laura and the people and fans of South Africa.
He also advised the young players to “dream big and give everything you need to achieve your dreams”. He passionately signed off: “I love South Africa, and I love cricket.”
Van der Dusen played 18 Tests, 71 One Day Internationals and 57 Twenty20 Internationals for South Africa between October 2018 and August 2025.
He finished with the second highest ODI average in his country’s history behind AB de Villiers.
He made his biggest impact in the 50-over format at the start of 2019, including five fifties in his first nine matches.
He was selected for South Africa’s ODI World Cup squad that year and retained his place even when de Villiers – who had previously retired – offered his services for the tournament.
Despite being in his first global event, the then 30-year-old van der Dusen addressed the selection issue head-on, admitting that allowing de Villiers back into the set-up “would have affected me directly”.
South Africa endured a disastrous tournament and were the first to be eliminated, but van der Dusen emerged as one of the few standouts, finishing as the side’s second-highest run-scorer with three half-centuries.
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