|| Desk Report ||

Former South Africa fast bowler Kyle Abbott said that he went ‘through hell’ in South Africa cricket after announcing his decision to sign a Kolpak deal in 2017.

“I went through a couple of months of hell in South Africa after that decision,” Kyle Abbott

“It was tough. I went into hiding ... going to the shop at any given point, someone had a say. It wasn’t always negative. In South Africa probably 90% of the people understood, but it was still that continuous thing and you could never really get it out of your mind,” Abbott said of his move to Hampshire.

The 32-year-old pacer conceded that he could have been more transparent with Cricket South Africa (CSA) in the process of making the decision.

“The reception I got from Hampshire was probably the comfort that I needed after that. The way they opened up and really made me feel at home - I consider it home now,” the right-handed pacer said.

“I probably wasn’t that honest with Cricket South Africa at a point, which was six months prior to my decision. It’s probably the last straw. I went to them and said, ‘I am getting approached by people in the UK and I need to make a decision, where are we going with this?” he also said.

“I had a bit of a chat with them and then it went quiet. No one asked me again from their side, ‘How are you doing? Any more stuff comes up?’ I sort of just went and did my own thing after that,” he added.