Former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers is considered one of the best modern-day batters to have played the game. The Proteas maestro was well known for his aggressive batting style and 360-degree strokeplay. However, De Villiers called his time on international cricket quite early in his career when he was just 34 years old. Two years later, he also went on to announce his retirement from all forms of cricket.
The South Africa veteran represented his nation in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is, amassing 20,014 overall runs across formats. De Villiers made numerous records and achieved many great feats in his illustrious career. He still holds the record for the fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (13 balls), and 150 (64 balls) in the history of ODIs.
Apart from international records, De Villiers was also an integral part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Proteas cricketer had an impressive outing in the RCB jersey and is among the few batters to score more than 5000 runs in the cash-rich league. De Villiers played 184 IPL matches before announcing retirement in 2021. He even was inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame earlier this year for his contribution to the Bangalore-based franchise.
Reflecting on his early retirement from all forms of cricket in an interview with Jio Cinema, De Villiers frankly expressed his thoughts on a potential return to competitive cricket. Although the South Africa legend reckoned that he could still make a comeback and will want to play against the likes of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, he admitted that there is no drive anymore.
“Definitely. I could still play. But the drive is not there anymore. It’s always just about being the best. I want to be the best if I come back and I’ll want to compete with Surya and Kohli,” said De Villiers.
“I definitely didn’t play enough cricket towards the back end of my career. I could never just play for two or three months of the year because I want to be the best in the world, and you can’t do that if you play for three months of the year. Absolutely no chance. Yes. You can practice for nine months. But nothing, nothing compares middle practice with being out there and competition,” he added.
