The last time when AB de Villiers turned out for his national side was in March 2018. It was a Test match against Australia at the Wanderers, and it was de Villiers’ 114th Test for his country. After that, he turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and at the end of the tournament, he shockingly announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018.
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By then, he was just 33 years old and the fans across the world were surprised by the decision. Ever since he appeared in franchise-based tournaments across the world and expressed his availability for South Africa ahead of ICC World Cup 2019 but was denied by the board. It didn’t go well with the fans, as South Africa fared pretty poorly.
I don’t know where I’m headed – AB de Villiers
In the latest, he once again expressed his willingness to play for South Africa again in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. Speaking regarding the same with SuperSport commentator Mpumelelo Mbangwa on Instagram Live, De Villiers responded to a question posed by one of his fans.
Answering the query, AB de Villiers stated that he was in conversation with Proteas head coach Mark Boucher and Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith. De Villiers is understood to be very close to the pair, whom he played within the past.
“I would absolutely love to play [for the Proteas] but it’s so unsure at the moment, where we’re heading with cricket around the world. I’ve spoken to ‘Bouch’ and ‘Smithy’ and all of them and the urge is there. I would desperately want to represent my country again. [But] I can’t commit to that because I don’t know where I’m headed. Am I going to be fit if WC happens in 2021? AB said.
”Am I still going to be in form? If I do commit to something like that I’d like to think that I’m going to be in the best form of my life, so I can bat and score runs for my country. There’s a lot of factors that I can’t control at the moment, so I’m taking it one day at a time and, touch wood, everything will work out,” he added.
The South African team has already understood that at this stage, they desperately need the presence of someone AB like De Villiers in the side. The likes of Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir, Duminy and Morne Morkel have walked away from the game, leaving the side in a bad shape. In the 2019 World Cup too, the side came a cropper, finishing seventh in the overall standings.
