Graeme Smith on Andrew Hall:'It's sad to lose him' © Getty Images Enlarge

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, has broken his silence on Andrew Hall's retirement from international cricket, saying that he plans to speak to Hall soon.

"I haven't spoken to him [Hall], but I will do so in the next day or two," Smith told Super Cricket. "He has his reasons, and it's for him to explain them.

"He's been a wonderful performer whenever South Africa have needed him, maybe he felt that he didn't consistently get a good run in the team. Even when he was in the squad but not in the team, he was a great guy to have around. It's sad to lose him."

Smith also spoke about the absence of senior players, specifically Jacques Kallis, from the Twenty20 squad. "When you lose players who've been around for a while your team dynamic does shift.

"Jacques has always been a reliable performer for South Africa. You know that he puts in his preparation and that he's going to be up for the performance on the day. It is weird not to have him around."

South Africa take on West Indies in the opening match of the Twenty20 World Championship in Johannesburg on September 11.