Cape Town – Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has thanked the retired Hashim Amla for his services to the national side.

Amla announced his retirement from all international cricket on Thursday, bringing the curtain down on one of the greatest Proteas careers ever seen. 

It’s the second major retirement blow to the Proteas this week, following Dale Steyn’s retirement from Test cricket.

Amla hit 9 282 runs at an average of 46.64 in 124 Test matches and 8 113 at 49.46 in 181 one-day internationals.

He hit 28 centuries in Tests and 27 in ODIs. His Test tally included four double centuries.

The news was met with a wave of social media support for the 36-year-old, who was a member of the squad that performed so dismally at the 2019 World Cup in England. 

That would prove to be Amla’s final contribution in a Proteas jersey. 

Du Plessis posted on Twitter on Friday morning, thanking Amla for everything he had done for cricket in the country. 

“The Father figure of our team. So much wisdom , so much humility, always a smile on ur face and has been the rock of the batting line up for as long as I can remember. Well done on ur legendary career bud. THANK YOU !!! We definitely gonna miss you,” Du Plessis wrote.

Du Plessis, meanwhile, will captain the Proteas on their three-Test tour of India in October.

The mighty # @amlahash … The Father figure of our team. So much wisdom , so much humility , always a smile on ur face and has been the rock of the batting line up for as long as I can remember. Well done on ur legendary career bud. THANK YOU !!! We definitely gonna miss you pic.twitter.com/ILwp12URER

— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) August 9, 2019