Gerhard Erasmus shares childhood pic with AB de Villiers, South Africa legend responds

A day after South Africa legend AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus took to social media to thank the superstar batter and share a special picture.

"Dankie AB," Erasmus wrote in his tweet, which translates to "thank you AB."

The picture was one from a very long time ago, when Erasmus was still a kid and batting with his pads on. Behind him, a young de Villiers can be seen keeping wickets.

Responding to the tweet in Afrikaans, AB de Villiers wrote:

"Wow. Special! I remember it like yesterday. Proud of how far you have come."

Erasmus recently shot into the spotlight after Namibia's impressive campaign at the 2021 T20 World Cup, where they made it to the Super 12 stage.

Namibia beat the Netherlands and Ireland to make it past the Group Stage and then beat Scotland in their Super 12s opener, with Erasmus playing an important role in the wins.

They were eventually knocked out after losing their remaining matches, but impressed with their performances against the likes of Pakistan, New Zealand and India.

Pleasure to watch AB de Villiers play from the other side: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, who is currently captaining India in the three-match T20 International (T20I) series against New Zealand, also took to Twitter today to bid farewell to one of the greats of the game.

"Not many people have had the impact on the game like AB did. It was indeed a pleasure to watch him play from the other side. Happy retirement AB, best wishes to and your family," Rohit tweeted.

AB de Villiers' decision came as a shock to many, with fans expecting him to play at least another season in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, de Villiers in his retirement message said that his enthusiasm for cricket is no longer the same as before and that he now wants to spend more time with his family.