Are we expecting too much from modern day cricketers? The AB de Villiers aftermath

The game of cricket has evolved. Today the sport has been demanding more from the players. The amount of cricket being played is more than ever. Just to keep their place in the team intact, modern-day cricketers try their hand in every format. Gone are the days, when players would concentrate on just one format or the other.

Take the AB de Villiers example and you’ll get what the chorus is all about. After being stressed out playing too much of cricket, the 34 year old had taken a break from test cricket for more than 18 months. However, the cricketer was heavily criticised for his move. Yes, he is a good test cricketer but why doesn’t he warrant a choice?

He came back and was exceptional against India. However, it was against Australia where the Superman displayed his credentials with 427 runs in the series. Everyone thought that ABD did a mistake by missing a couple of years of test cricket. Yes, in terms of capability, this guy can scale any height. But what about mental stability?

His statements of being tired and running out of gas clearly depict that the legend had been exhausted. He wasn’t being managed properly. Cricket South Africa is equally at fault for allowing something like this to happen. What AB De Villiers went through may always remain a mystery. The person who mentioned that AB not playing Tests was a disrespect to the game. Seriously?

Look at MS Dhoni This guy retired from Tests way back in 2014. Why? He was good enough to make it into any Indian XI. It was just that he knew that his forte was the limited-overs arena. His early Test retirement is what helped him prolong his fitness and that’s probably the reason we will get to witness him in 2019 World Cup. Imagine the outrage that would’ve followed if AB de Villiers did the same.

Ask the players who play all the formats and you’ll get your answer. It isn’t easy to shift gears from time to time and adapt. Especially when you’re at the wrong side of the 30s. AB De Villiers is a marvel in the field, one of the biggest fitness freaks you may say but he is a human. He knows his limits. And just the bandwagon of playing all formats led to his departure from international cricket.

This particular incident has raised so many questions. Why is it so important for a cricketer to play every format? What’s wrong if a player doesn’t want to play Tests? Does a cricketer not deserve recognition because he doesn’t want to play the longer format? Yes, Test match is classical cricket, the joy of watching it is one different experience. But if someone doesn’t want to feature then be it.

South Africa used to play Dale Steyn in limited ODIs just so that he could feature in more Tests. Why can’t it be contrary? AB De Villiers though was a master in both formats. However, it’s quite evident that he had an edge in limited overs cricket. And especially with the World Cup around the corner, why couldn’t CSA preserve ABD?

AB de Villiers tired following excessive cricket

And talking on behalf of Mr 360 degrees, it’s hard to believe that he hadn’t planned it all through. As he stepped up to play against India, he would’ve already had retirement at the back of him mind after the end of the season. His goal was to attain series victories over both India and Australia. And he did achieve them alongside being the standout performer.

Just our constant gush to watch a player excel in the longer format led to his overall departure from the international stage. ‘I’m tired’ is what he concluded. No one deserves this. Especially after having scored more than 20000 international runs. He deserved a choice, to be treated like a hero. The Test format is probably the ultimate stage to don your skills. However, not playing it doesn’t mean any disrespect to the format. It’s about choices, and it always should be.

Having said all that, it’s important that CSA doesn’t let it happen to any cricketer again. No player is bigger than the sport but it’s the individuals who make the sport lively. Hence they’re to be taken care of and not be put on a pedestal as Faf du Plessis once told. International cricket will miss AB De Villiers dearly. I sincerely hope that this serves an example to other teams not to pressurise a player to play multiple formats against his will.

Stay updated on every ‘cricket news‘ and developments with CricTracker.com.