Vernon Philander has admitted that interference in selection ahead of the 2015 World Cup semi-final, and the recent crises at Cricket South Africa (CSA) both contributed to hastening his retirement, which took place last month, ESPN reports.
"As a player you get to the point where you've had enough," Philander said. "Cricket SA's previous administration only looked after themselves; the players were the last people they worried about. Too many things went wrong and I had to decide what was the best way forward for me.
I am 34 and have a good career behind me, but I would have considered playing longer if it wasn't for the chaos in our cricket administration." "It's difficult for me to look back on that," he said. "I blatantly and openly told the coach that the best player must play.
He told me, 'you're the best man for the day, you play'. But they were clearly not open and honest with me and Kyle. There were things happening behind closed doors."
Philander traces repercussions back to what happened before the semi-final and although he and Abbott remain friends, neither felt the same about CSA since.
"When I go to Durban, I have a beer with Kyle. There are no hard feelings between us two. But the point is: Cricket SA must sort out their stuff. What happened was a knock to both of us."
"I blatantly and openly told the coach that the best player must play. He told me, 'you're the best man for the day, you play'. But they were clearly not open and honest with me and Kyle"
"The administrators became too involved with the game and the players," he said. "It was also easier for them to target Ottis because he's a foreigner. They could tell it him, "Do this, do that."
"Hopefully we will see a turnaround in the administration and on the playing field," he said. "We must put out heads together and decide which direction we are going in. Hopefully we can make the path for younger players better."
"In successful teams like Australia, England and India, former players are involved but in South Africa, we lost our former players to other countries where they do coaching because the money is much better," Philander said. "We have to decide what we are willing to pay to keep former players in the country and ensure that our cricket goes forward again."
"We try to give children other routes away from gangs, drugs and alcohol. I say to myself that I can't help everyone in the whole world but if I can help one or two, it's something."