South African batsman Boeta Dippenaar announced his retirement from international cricket to pursue other interests.

Dippenaar, who made his debut in 1999, competed in 38 Tests and 107 one-day internationals and will continue playing for the Diamond Eagles and Leicestershire in England.

"Where my cricket career stands now, I have to make the tough call and step away," the 30-year-old Dippenaar was quoted as saying by the News 24 website on Friday.

"I want to improve my qualifications for life after cricket. Even if I were in the national team now, I would have announced my retirement at the end of the season.

"Some people may question my decision but it is something that my wife and I have reached certainty about during the past year."

Dippenaar scored three Test centuries while averaging 30.14 runs and hit four hundreds in ODIs.

"We regret that he will be out of the international arena next season as he is a talented cricketer who always gave his all for the team," Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Gerald Majola said in a statement.

Dippenaar recently helped the Diamond Eagles win the SuperSport Series, South Africa's four-day first-class competition.