The 30-year-old, a left-arm orthodox spinner and hard-hitting middle-order batsman, has cut ties with South Africa after leaving the Pretoria-based Titans franchise and will now seek a team in England.
He has set his sights on representing Netherlands at the Twenty20 World Cup in March and April next year, having qualified through his ancestry.
“I have decided on a different path that could be beneficial to my long-term career and family life," Van der Merwe said in a statement from the Titans on Tuesday.
Van der Merwe featured in 13 one-day Internationals and 13 Twenty20 matches for South Africa in 2009 and 2010, taking 31 wickets combined.
Despite being viewed as more of a limited overs player, he was the leading run-scorer for the Titans in South Africa’s domestic four-day competition in the 2014/15 season with 774 runs at an average of 55.28.
Van der Merwe has previously also represented Somerset, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, and the Brisbane Heat in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition.
(Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Justin Palmer; nick.said@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: nick.said.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; +27 83 272 2948)
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