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South African finger spinner Johan Botha, 38, will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash with the Hobart Hurricanes this season.

Former South Africa spinner Johan Botha will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash with Hobart.

Botha made the snap decision to retire from all forms of cricket after a BBL match at the start of 2019, and began a coaching career.

However the 38-year-old has been lured out of retirement to turn out for the Hurricanes this summer, again qualifying as a local player.

"It was a choice between 'Do I further my coaching career, or do I miss the first couple of games (as an assistant) in the Pakistan Super League?'" Botha said.

"I figured I'm as fit as I've ever been, and I feel I can still make a contribution to the team.

"I've missed playing but I didn't really want to put it out there and say 'can you pick me' in case it didn't work out.

"So we kept it quiet from when we first chatted about it at the Shield Hub in Adelaide, and it slowly built up from there."

Botha, who took 126 international wickets for South Africa and became an Australian citizen in 2016, is also on Tasmania's state coaching staff.

The decision means he is eligible for selection in their season opener against Sydney Sixers on Thursday night.