Hashim Amla plays down chances of South Africa coaching role in near future

Amla retired from international cricket in August, having made more than 18,000 runs for his country across all formats, with 55 centuries

Hashim Amla has admitted he does not plan to join South Africa’s staff in the near future, despite several pundits talking up the case of some of the country’s recent former players.

The clamour came after the Proteas were soundly whitewashed by India in a three-match Test series, with the visitors’ batting struggling throughout.

Amla retired from international cricket in August, having made more than 18,000 runs for his country across all formats, with 55 centuries.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was among those to put forward the merits of some of Amla’s former teammates.

“This South African Test team is a real concern for the game,” he tweeted. “The game needs South Africa to be strong... Time for Mark Boucher to take over. Also, why wouldn’t you use Graeme Smith [and] Jacques Kallis is some capacity?”

Boucher is currently in charge of Titans, while former opening batsman Ashwell Prince is head coach at Cape Cobras.

During South Africa’s World Cup struggles, Titans chief executive Jacques Faul backed the former wicketkeeper as a viable option for the Proteas.

“If there is a search for a new coach after the World Cup, then I believe they definitely won't go wrong by appointing Mark,” he said at the time.

Amla, however, who is yet to end his playing career, is less convinced by his own future.

“I am still playing, so having just retired – literally only three months ago – I still like playing domestic cricket,” Amla told India’s Hindustan Times.

“So, I am not quite sure how well I would that fit in at the moment. But in time to come, if I do go down the route of coaching and telling the others, which I really, really enjoy, why not? But at the moment I am still quite busy playing domestic cricket.”

^{Hashim Amla retired from international cricket in August}

He also warned critics not to forget the recent past, when Faf du Plessis’ side beat both India and Australia on home soil.

“We have to be very aware that after one bad tour like the one we have had in India, everybody starts scrambling and looking for reasons for the team’s failure,” Amla highlighted.

“But now that we have lost one series this chat takes place, which for me is a little bit surprising.”

Amla, meanwhile, is reportedly set to sign for Surrey as a Kolpak player.

Speaking after the final Test defeat, du Plessis bemoaned the loss of South African talent to the English county system, adding that Amla’s influence in the country’s domestic system would be invaluable.

“Even the guys going there post international cricket, like Hashim Amla, those guys, they won't be playing domestic cricket back home,” du Plessis explained. “So, you lose all of that experience, which would have helped the young guys so much.

“Playing with Hashim Amla is the greatest learning curve that you can get. Playing with Dale Steyn, playing with AB de Villiers, all those guys, so it's about making sure that you can bridge that gap and finding ways to do it.

“So that's the situation where we need to get to. Because at the moment we don't get the option of all the best players, you know. So that will always be a concern for us.”

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