AB de Villiers opts out of England Test series

What’s the story?

Fresh on the back of announcing that he will give the New Zealand Test series a miss, AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of the Test series against England in July-August. The South African batsman’s decision now means that he will only play in Tests in the latter part of 2017 and he has also made himself unavailable for any T20 leagues except the IPL

The 32-year-old will take part in the T20s against Sri Lanka but admitted that he is not ready yet and fans will have to wait until the series against India in the 2017-18 summer to see AB in action, aside from the IPL. To prepare for his Test return, he will take part in the domestic first-class season for his team, Titans.

“The bigger and better reason is my priorities have changed. Playing three formats it felt like the world is on my shoulder. The IPL has become part of the ICC set-up, you won't see me at any other leagues. I'll only be playing IPL and for SA,” he said.

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The Proteas batsman had previously opted out of the Tests against New Zealand in March 2017 despite recovering from his elbow injury. He also made himself unavailable for the Bangladesh Test series in the 2017-18 home season but was quick to add that he wasn’t retiring from Tests.

The heart of the matter

With plenty of doubt surrounding AB’s future as a Test player, the news that he has opted out of the England series won’t come as great news for the fans. However, the fact that he is just returning from injury has played a large part in that decision.

He admitted that he isn't ready for Tests just yet but is hopeful that everything will be fine. The Proteas star also added that he will take part in the domestic first-class competition for the Titans, in order to prove himself ahead of the series against India, the details of the tour that will take place in 2017 haven’t been revealed as yet.

What next?

South Africa will now take on Sri Lanka in the limited-overs leg of their tour and AB will play in the final T20I match which will take place on January 25. Having ruled himself out of contention for the New Zealand series in March, the IPL will be the next tournament that he will take part in completely after his surgery.

Sportskeeda’s take

There is no doubt that AB de Villiers is still one of the best batsmen in the world and since he is just returning from injury, it is only natural that he would want to take his time and not rush into anything. However, the fact that he will miss the two crucial series for the Proteas against New Zealand and England perhaps hints at the fact he is looking at the shorter formats and looking to extend his career rather than playing all formats.