Dean Elgar says he cares more about winning test series than statistics, saying, “This is my World Cup.”

Even though Dean Elgar did not participate in the World Cup, he believes that winning a Test series is just as important, and that is how he wants to end his career. Elgar will retire after Wednesday’s second Test against India in Cape Town.

The 36-year-old, who will be captaining South Africa in Temba Bavuma’s absence owing to fitness concerns, is hoping for a 2-0 clean sweep over India.

On Tuesday, Elgar told reporters, “I play the game to win.” Stats don’t matter to me. Wins are important to me. Series victories are important to me. The best memories are those you can enjoy with your team and all the others who have a supporting role to play. You don’t beat a test series that wins. A World Cup victory may be among them. Although I’ve never had the chance, this World Cup is mine. This is my domain, and I want to prevail here.

Elgar was lauded by India captain Rohit Sharma, who also noted that the latter had made a lot of runs against his team. In 14 Test matches against India so far, the opening batsman has amassed 996 runs at an average of 43.30, with two hundreds in his total.

“Elgar has been their pillar of support for a while now. Definitely gets a lot of runs against us, but he’s still a good player. Someone who doesn’t merely toss his wicket away without paying a heavy price. “You need to remove him,” Rohit remarked.

“Getting him early will be crucial as we want to see what the other hitters do in his absence. We are aware of his significance to them. He enjoys hitting for a long time and scoring huge runs. Our plans are in place. I hope it works out for us because, while it was obviously unsuccessful in the last game, maybe it will (in the upcoming encounter). “Hopefully, we can make it as miserable as possible (laughs)” he said.

In the first Test match, South Africa defeated India by an innings and thirty-two runs, and Elgar was their standout batsman. He had a fantastic first innings score of 185.

Being asked to captain a team is, in my opinion, the greatest honor or credit one can get. It has been the greatest learning experience for me personally, not only from a cricketing perspective but also in terms of off-field matters. I did it for a year and a half or whatever it was in the past, Elgar added.

“Whether I’m captaining or playing, I give it my all, and I’m going into this game with that mindset. In his words, “It’s about modeling good behavior for the younger players, and hopefully that catches on.”