Former India skipper Virat Kohli and the incumbent captain of India Rohit Sharma presented special signed jerseys to South Africa's Dean Elgar in his final Test on Thursday. India defeated South Africa in the New Year's Test at the Newlands in Cape Town by seven wickets in what turned out to be the shortest Test ever played in terms of balls bowled.
Following the game, Virat approached Elgar and presented him with his signed jersey. The two players engaged in a light conversation as the cameramen rushed to capture the moment. While Virat did his bit to make it special for Elgar in his farewell Test, Rohit presented the Protea with another memorable souvenir to cherish forever.
Rohit handed an India Test jersey to the 36-year-old South African signed by all the Indian players and carrying a beautiful message, "Dear Deano, All the very best for all that is ahead."
Notably, Elgar was the most experienced member of the current South African Test set-up. Having made his Test debut against the Aussies in Perth in 2012, the Welkom-born managed to represent the Proteas in 86 Tests in a career that spanned over 11 years.
His numbers do not make for a splendid reading but he was one of the most tenacious batters of the modern day generation. The southpaw scored 5347 runs in 152 innings at an average of 37.92. His highest Test score of 199 came against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in September 2017.
The veteran racked up 14 centuries in the red-ball format of the game and also amassed 23 half-centuries. He also had the privilege to captain the South African Test side in 18 fixtures. While the Proteas won nine of those games, they suffered defeat in eight games and one fixture ended in a draw.
