South Africa opening batsman Dean Elgar has resisted the desire towards a Kolpak deal as he has signed with Somerset county club as a foreign player for 2017/18 season, which has come as a big relief for the Proteas. As many as six players namely Kyle Abbott, Hardus Viljoen, Simon Harmer, Rilee Rossouw, Stiaan van Zyl and David Wiese have taken the Kolpak route in the past some months or so.

Elgar’s stint will be quite beneficial for South Africa during the tour England. Elgar, who was the Man of the Series in the home Test against Sri Lanka, in all probability open the innings in the Test series and the county stint will be quite beneficial for him.

Matt Maynard, the Somerset director of cricket praised Elgar for the signing and said, “He has all the characteristics that you want in a player. He’s a fighter, he battles hard and he brings the sort of gritty determination that the members and supporters will appreciate. He has a good array of shots and is a top class fielder. He is a 100% man and the kind of person who will absolutely buy in to the values that this club holds dear.

“Over the last couple of years he has proved himself to be an excellent batsman but there is more to his game than that. He will also offer us a more than useful option with his left-arm spin. We were not the only county interested in securing his services for 2017 so we are delighted that he will be with us.”