On Tuesday, Cricket South Africa confirmed that the chances of AB de Villiers featuring in this year’s T20 World Cup have come down to zero by stating that he has decided “once and for all, that his retirement will remain final”. De Villiers announced his retirement from international cricket in May 2018 but has been active in franchise T20 competitions.
Last month, when AB de Villiers was plying his trade for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021, South Africa coach Mark Boucher had hinted at teh possibility of ABD’s comeback with a view towards featuring in the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in October-November in India.
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On Tuesday, CSA announced in a release that discussions with de Villiers have concluded. However, at the time when de Villiers was reported to have in conversations with Boucher, he had sounded enthusiastic about the prospect of a South Africa comeback.
Last month, AB de Villiers had said, “Last year, he asked me if I would be interested. And I said, ‘absolutely’. And come to the end of the IPL, we will have a look at where we are at with regards to my form and my fitness. Also, the situation with his team – he’s got to look at his guys who have been performing well over the last while. Waiting for [the chat with] Bouchy towards the end of the IPL, and we will then plan accordingly.”
Ever since his retirement announcement in 2018, there have always been rumors of ABD’s comeback. He came closest to ending his retirement on the eve of the 2019 ODI World Cup when he made a last-minute offer of an international return but was rebuffed by the then-team management.
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Hopes of AB de Villiers making an international comeback had intensified after a new leadership group including director of cricket Graeme Smith and coach Mark Boucher – both former international team-mates of de Villiers – took over the national team’s reins towards the end of 2019, but those hopes now seem extinguished.
