South African all-rounder quits international cricket | Sportsmonks
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South African all-rounder quits international cricket

South African all-rounder Wayne Parnell has decided to call it quits from international cricket after deciding to go the Kolpak way. He will now ply his trade for Worcestershire.

The last match he played for South Africa was in October 2017 against Bangladesh. Unfortunately, he was not handed a central contract this year.

While speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Parnell hailed the decision as one of the hardest in his career.

'This is probably the toughest decision I've had to make in my career,' Parnell told ESPNcricinfo. 'Of course this wasn't an overnight decision, it's a very difficult decision and I am fully aware and understand the pros and cons of it. I have always enjoyed playing for my country since making my debut. I'd like to thank everybody who has supported me through thick and thin, my family, my friends.

Parnell suffered an injury in January which forced him out of action for a long period of time. He used this time to reflect upon his career and thus made the decision.

He was a part of this year’s Vitality T20 Blast, playing for Worcestershire

'After my serious injury in January I had three to four months out and really had time to reflect and think about what I want for the rest of my career going forward,' he said. It was a very tough period in my life emotionally and mentally as it could potentially have been a career-ending injury and my wife was heavily pregnant with our first born son so I had a lot going on. You can't really predict the future so you try and formulate and plot a plan and see how it unfolds.'

Parnell joins a list of other South African cricketers such as Morne Morkel, Rillee Roussow, and Kyle Abbott, all three of whom went the Kolpak way.

Parnell played six Tests, 65 ODIs and 40 T20Is during his international career for the Proteas.

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