Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Tuesday announced that former captain AB de Villiers will not come out of his international retirement to join back the team. The board further stated that de Villiers has decided that his ‘retirement will remain final’.
Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all that, his retirement will remain final,” Cricket South Africa said while announcing their squads for limited-overs series in the West Indies and Ireland over the next few months.
Earlier on May 6, CSA Director and former South African captain Graeme Smith had said that a discussion was going on whether de Villiers would return to the national team.
“AB is different discussion as he is retired and whether he comes out of retirement is an ongoing discussion,” Smith was quoted as saying by Sport24.
“In terms of free agents, they are always available. They play in T20 leagues around the world and are gaining more experience in the format than most. We have seen the success the West Indies have had with that policy, so it would be considered by selectors. However, many factors go into that like team dynamics and the players in the system,” Smith added.
De Villiers had announced his retirement from international cricket in May 2018. He played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is before announcing his surprise retirement.
However, last month the 37-year-old versatile cricketer said it would be “fantastic” to make an international comeback ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in India in October-November.
“If I can slot in, it will be fantastic,” de Villiers had said after he playing match-winning innings for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in the now-suspended IPL in April.
Speaking to the reporters in Chennai, de Villiers had then said he will have a chat with South Africa head coach Mark Boucher at the end of IPL 2021 while assessing his form and fitness after RCB’s campaign on the 14th season of the T20 tournament.