AB de Villiers opens up on his retirement from international cricket

AB de Villiers’s return to international cricket has been a source of constant speculation ever since he offered to play for the Proteas in the 2019 World cup. De Villiers, whose retirement from international cricket came out of the blue, has been plying his trade all around the world in various T20 leagues. He has now added more fuel to the fire that he may come out of retirement and play for South Africa again.

"This lockdown didn't come at a great time," he said. "I was quite interested and very keen to get a part in the squad and be there with the guys again... even if I just work with them, even if I don't play. I am open to anything, I just want... the fire is there to make a difference for the guys and it has always been there. I have to assess my situation every single day, see where I am at,” sounding expectant of a return. 

But at the moment, AB says he is only focusing on getting back on the field in and playing cricket again. ”For now, I just want to get on the cricket field. Hopefully, IPL will happen this year... another tournament or two, I just want to get going and then we'll reassess and I'll have a look at where I am at, at that time, with my family, with my body, my hunger... all those things play a big role. I don't know where I am going to be in six months' time. Hopefully, everything works out and I can get that opportunity to contribute again to whichever team I play for.”

A lot of times, especially in the era of social media, opinions are devoid of any empathy, and we often tend to forget that the players we adore are also human. De Villiers’s sudden exit from the international arena was also driven by various factors. "A lot of things happened in the last five years in my life and in my career. It was a confusing time, I can say that. My head and my heart have been in different places at the same time which is not a good place to be in. Trust me, I've asked this question to myself a lot of times but I made the decision to retire at a time when I felt I really needed to get away,” he added.

"I got a lot of criticism at the time for picking and choosing, so there was no room to hide anymore. I couldn't say I want a bit of time off because, again, I am picking and choosing. So I felt my only option was to say 'listen, I am done, I am out of here’,” he explained.

Explaining his recent change of heart regarding his international exile, AB elucidated, ”In the back of my mind at that time [when I retired], I knew I was still going to play cricket. And after a good IPL or two and a bit of time in the BBL, slowly but surely that urge started coming back again. The T20 World Cup came back in my mind.

"Having spent time with Boucher at that specific time last year, it really started the conversations. It came from his side at the beginning because I would never say 'I am back and available again'. He started the conversation and I said 'listen, let's just chat along and see where we go with this’.

"That's why it looks so confusing from the outside. And I don't think it should be that confusing. Life changes, and it shouldn't be the same all the time. Things change, situations change from year to year and that's basically what happened to me in the last four to five years. Yes, it looks bad from the side and it is confusing... I did retire and I am still retired. But things changed over the last three to four years. I am still healthy. I still feel I can hit the ball. If that changes, I am certainly not available for anything. But for now, we'll see what happens in the next few games that I play.”

[Cricbuzz inputs]