Surrey to snap up Hashim Amla on Kolpak deal

One of the mightiest figures in South African cricket, Hashim Amla retired from international cricket after a nearly 15-year stint for South Africa at the international level. While he had announced that he would continue to play domestic cricket and is also available for the upcoming Mzansi Super League 2019, now, ESPN Cricinfo has reported that Hashim Amla is set to sign for Surrey, a club for which Amla's former South African teammate Morne Morkel a part of, as a Kolpak registration.

Amla's representative also held talks with Middlesex and Hampshire but Surrey might close the deal before the end of the week. The possibility of a no-deal Brexit could close the loophole on future Kolpak registrations in the county game and Surrey is eager to compensate for the loss of key players on international duty.

In the last Ashes, which England drew 2-2, three players from Surrey Rory Burns, Ollie Pope and Sam Curran were part and had to miss a major part of their championship run. The same is set to continue for the next few seasons, and the signing of Amla, as Surrey would hope, will give them the same insurance as Kumar Sangakkara gave them for two years after retiring from international cricket in mid-2015.