South African star batsman AB de Villiers has retired from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect. The 34-year-old, on Wednesday, posted a video message on his Twitter handle, informing about the same to his fans across the world.
De Villiers’ shocking retirement has come after his IPL side, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), got knocked out of the 11th edition of the tournament.
“It’s time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired. It is a tough decision, I have thought long and hard about it and I would like to retire while still playing decent cricket.”
“After the fantastic series wins against India and Australia, now feels the right time to step aside. It won’t be right for me to pick and choose where and when, and in what format I play for the Proteas. For the Green and Gold, it must be everything or nothing”, he said in the video.
I’ve made a big decision today pic.twitter.com/In0jyquPOK
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) May 23, 2018
Having made his debut for South Africa in 2004, AB De Villiers has played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is. Regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era, he holds several batting records, including the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODIs.
In the IPL this year, he was in great nick, scoring 480 runs from 12 games at a brilliant average of 53.33.
