Former South Africa batsman Rilee Rossouw has said he does not regret his decision to sign the Kolpak deal.
The 27-year-old was one of the handful of Proteas players who signed for English County teams in a major exodus that rocked South Africa cricket last month. And while the other players escaped any public reaction from the South Africa cricket team, Rossouw was severely criticised by South Africa coach Russell Domingo after signing a three-year deal with Hampshire.
The highly-rated southpaw, who represented South Africa in 36 One-Day Internationals and 15 Twenty20 Internationals, was seen as a future star and his decision to quit had angered one and all.
“I’m bitterly disappointed in him. He toured Australia as the back-up batsman so he was the next batsman in. He’s played most of the one-dayers and most of the T20s. He’s a guy we backed after five noughts. If that was a player of colour getting five noughts, everyone would have said he was a player of transformation. But he got five noughts and we thought this was the guy who could play the closest level to AB de Villiers in the one-day team. So we’ve invested massively in him and I’m bitterly disappointed in his decision,” Domingo had said last month.
However, Rossouw has left the whole episode behind and is looking forward to a bright future. He is currently in Dubai to play for Quetta Gladiators in the second season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL)
“Yes, definitely no regrets, and I am looking forward to a bright future and what is in store for me,” he told the media on Saturday (February 11).
He has already made his impact in the tournament with two half-centuries (60 off 47 balls and 76* off 53 balls) that have played a big role in Gladiators’ brilliant start to the season.
Speaking about the team environment, he said:
“Since day one, everyone is very positive and the two wins have put us in the right direction. Moin has helped me on what conditions to expect, and it’s a good team environment and that has helped me perform. I played ball to ball and I didn’t put too much pressure on myself.I believe if I prepare well and my execution is good on the day then I can perform. I don’t put too much pressure on myself.”