What’s the story?
AB de Villiers has said that he is not retiring from any format of the game. “I’m not retiring out of test cricket. I’m not retiring out of any format, that’s for sure,” said the star batsman to the South African radio station 702. But the batsman has made himself unavailable for the tests against New Zealand.
Speculations were rife over past few days that AB de Villiers may opt out of test cricket to focus on the shorter formats of the game. Marshalling the Proteas side to back to back test series wins against Australia and Sri Lanka, captain Faf du Plessis had also indicated that he was not sure of De Villiers’ return to the test side.
“My main aim is to get to that 2019 World Cup and I am going to do everything possible to get there,” said the South African batsman underlining the quadrennial event as his top priority.
In case you didn’t know...
The 32-year-old De Villiers has not been available for national duties since undergoing an elbow surgery after the Caribbean Premier League in July last year. The South African batsman was cleared to play in the later parts of the CSA T20 Challenge in December and then in the test series against Sri Lanka.
But the recovery time took longer than expected and De Villiers had to opt out of both the opportunities he got to prove his match fitness. The star batsman had stepped down as the captain of the test team after rendering himself unavailable for the Sri Lanka series.
The heart of the matter
De Villiers is a key member of the Proteas side. The player himself acknowledges that and understands that performing for the national team is his top priority. With South Africa still looking for its first major ICC trophy, his remarkable presence in the team becomes much more important.
Soon to be 33, De Villiers though has admitted the challenges that the body of his age will have to face in order to be fit for the 2019 World Cup. The genius batsman has said that he would consider on managing his workload in pursuit of the hopes of lifting the trophy in two years time in England.
What next?
De Villiers last played a test match in January 2016. Though now he has declared himself fit after recovering from the elbow surgery, still no date has been announced on when he will stage a comeback into the national side. The South African batsman is expected to make an appearance in a semi-professional game next week.
Sportskeeda’s take
De Villiers is arguably one of the most loved cricketers right now. This comes as a good news for the fans all over the world who want to see the genius batsman at work on the crease.
The packed playing schedules can be tough on cricketers’ body, the player knows his body the best and thus is in a situation to decide what’s best for the interests of the player and the team.
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