AB de Villiers announces his international retirement

“It has been a very tough decision to make" - AB de Villiers.

Published - 23 May 2018, 16:47 IST | Updated - 23 May 2018, 16:47 IST

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AB de Villiers has been one of the greatest cricketers South Africa have ever produced. He made his debut back way back in 2004 and has been a vital cog of their lineup in all forms of cricket. He has only grown in stature as his career has progressed. However, the 34-year old has finally decided to hang his boots from international cricket, as per reports in AB de Villiers official application.

“It has been a very tough decision to make and I’ve thought long and hard about it but I believe it is my time to step down. A huge thank you to my teammates, Cricket South Africa and all the supporters who have been behind me both in SA and around the world,” he mentioned.

The massive jolt for Proteas cricket

His career has been marred by injuries owing to which he couldn’t quite cement his position in the national team. Last year, he made his comeback to Test cricket after a gap of almost two years. He played against Zimbabwe in the four-day Day-Night Test which South Africa comprehensively won. Thereafter, he played the Test series versus India.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t play the most of the ODI series against the Men in Blue owing to a finger injury. He recently played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and notched some match-winning hands for them. South Africa is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for a Test, ODI and T20 series which starts on July 7.

The news of his retirement is definitely going to be a massive blow for Proteas cricket as they are expected to strain in order to find his replacement. The Pretoria-born cricketer played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is in which he scored 8765, 9577 and 1672 runs respectively. He also has 47 international tons to his name.