Johan Botha comes out of retirement to play for Hobart Hurricanes in BBL
Johan Botha is no stranger to the BBL, having previously played three seasons with the Adelaide Strikers from 2012 to 2014, before joining the Sydney Sixers from 2015 to 2018, and then the Hobart Hurricanes.
Former South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha came out of retirement to take part in the upcoming edition of Big Bash League (BBL) for Hobart Hurricanes.
The 36-year-old had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in the middle of BBL 2019 citing physical fatigue after playing 10 games for the Hurricanes.
Botha, however, has now said it was not the way he wanted to end his career and he felt he can still make a contribution as a player.
“Obviously, the Hurricanes is the last team I finished with, and it wasn’t quite the end I wanted. There were four games to go in the season back then, and the guys were playing really good cricket. I didn’t think I’d get another opportunity to play, and then chatting to Ben Rohrer and Griff and they said there might be an opportunity coming up for me. 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,” Botha said in an official Hobart Hurricanes release.
“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,” he added.
The all-rounder is no stranger to the BBL, having previously played three seasons with the Adelaide Strikers from 2012 to 2014, before joining the Sydney Sixers from 2015 to 2018, and then the Hobart Hurricanes
The former South African international will once again join the Hurricanes as a local player, given that he is now an Australian citizen. Botha will be joined by Tasmanian Tigers squad member, Charlie Wakim, as replacement players for Matthew Wade and Tim Paine whilst they are on international duties.
Twenty-nine-year-old Wakim is a handy right-hand batsman and has previous BBL experience as a member of the Sydney Sixers Academy. Local batsman, Caleb Jewell, will also join the squad as a replacement player, while Mitch Owen completes his recovery from a stress fracture.
The Hurricanes will kick off the BBL10 when they face reigning Champions, the Sydney Sixers, at Blundstone Arena on Thursday 10 December.
(With ANI inputs)
