South African pacer Duanne Oliver has turned his back to the international cricket as he signed a three-year deal with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club which is subject to clearance through Kolpak regulations.
Terming the decision as the "most difficult" one of his life, the 26-year-old said that being a professional cricketer, his career will be short lived and that he needs to make most of the opportunities that comes across his way.
"Today I'm announcing possibly the most difficult decision I've ever had to make. I have decided to sigh with Yorkshire County Cricket Club on a 3 year deal as a local player," Oliver said in an Instagram post.
"My decision might be difficult for some to understand but being a professional cricket player is a short lived career and in order for me to make the most of all my opportunities, I had to consider all my options," he added.
Duanne said that he decided to join the county cricket club after being dropped from the South African Test team post their Bangladesh tour.
"Before the Pakistan tour, I hadn't played Test cricket since the Bangladesh tour in 2017 which led to me exploring other options for my career. I am not one to harp on past decisions and have bad blood as I am grateful for the opportunities I got. I do believe in being pro active and feel that in any career it is always good to have options should it look like a door could close," Duanne said.
"I started considering going this route when I learned of the invaluable experience and opportunities it would open for me," he added.
Duanne has played a total of Test matches from South Africa scalping 48 wickets with an economy rate of 3.85. He had made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2017 and played his last Test against the same team, this month.