Mark Boucher disappointed by AB de Villiers' decision to remain retired

Cricket South Africa (CSA), on May 19 (Thursday), confirmed that star batter AB de Villiers would not come out of international retirement, stating that he has decided 'once and for all, that his retirement will remain final'.

AB de Villiers' premature retirement in 2018 after an illustrious career of 15 years left the cricketing fraternity in shock. His last outing for the Proteas came in March 2018 in a Test match against Australia in Johannesburg. The very next month, the legendary batter announced his retirement at just 34 years old.

Meanwhile, in the last couple of months, there have been reports that he might change his mind and return to international cricket following his excellent form in T20 leagues across the world. South African Head Coach Mark Boucher and Director of Cricket South Africa Graeme Smith hinted that AB de Villiers was in line for a return ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to take place later this year.

But Cricket South Africa has now confirmed that AB de Villiers is not coming back. Reacting to the same, Mark Boucher stated that de Villiers' decision not to return to international cricket comes from the idea of him taking someone else's place in the playing XI and that he fully respects it.

"AB has his reasons, which I respect," Boucher told Citizen. "Unfortunately he’s no longer in the mix. I say unfortunately because I think we all agree that he’s still one of the best – if not the best – T20 players in world cricket," Mark Boucher said.

"But he alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’t think it sat well with him, which I understand," Boucher added.

AB de Villiers finalises international retirement.Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final. pic.twitter.com/D3UDmaDAS2

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 18, 2021

AB de Villiers is an energy-booster in any environment: Mark Boucher

Mark Boucher further stated that the move to bring back AB de Villiers was worth a try, but they will now look forward with a couple of important series lined up. The South Africans play West Indies and Ireland next in the lead-up to the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.

"But as a coach I needed to try and get our best players, for the team and the environment. AB is an energy-booster in any environment, but I respect his reasoning. It was worth a go, but now let’s move forward," Mark Boucher added.

AB de Villiers, who is South Africa's fourth-highest Test run-scorer and second in the ODIs and T20Is list, has represented the country in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20Is. One of the finest batters of this generation, he has accumulated 20,014 runs across formats, including 47 centuries.

He was in breathtaking form in IPL 2021 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore before the BCCI decided to halt the tournament due to the COVID-19 crisis in the country. He scored 207 runs from seven outings, including two half-centuries.