AB de Villiers will not play for South Africa again, confirms CSA

AB de Villiers time and time again has expressed his desire to come out of retirement and play for South Africa in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Even South Africa’s head coach Mark Boucher said that they are very optimistic about AB de Villiers playing for South Africa again.
However, when South Africa’s squad for West Indies and Ireland tours were announced, AB’s name was missing. Cricket South Africa later confirmed in a press release that AB de Villiers won’t be making an international comeback.

Also read: ‘The conversation is still very much open’ – Mark Boucher hints at AB de Villiers return to International cricket – Sky247 Blog

“Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final,” CSA said in its statement according to journalist Saj Sadiq.

De Villiers was in top form in the now postponed 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. He single handedly won RCB a couple of games and amassed 207 runs in six innings at an average of 51.75 and a strike rate of 164.29. Given his form, the fans were hopeful of watching AB de Villiers representing South Africa in the T20 World Cup. However, all the speculations regarding his comeback have been put to rest.

In another eye-popping decision, CSA has left out ace batsman Faf du Plessis from the ODI and T20I squad against Ireland and T20I squad against West Indies. He has already retired from the Test format. However, it’s still unclear whether Du Plessis was not available or he has been dropped from the team.

South Africa will play two Tests against West Indies starting June 10 in St Lucia followed by five T20Is in Grenada. The Ireland Series will kick off on July 11 and will comprise of three ODIs and three T20Is.