To be honest, I am tired, says AB de Villiers on his retirement

AB de Villiers has shocked the cricketing world by hanging his boots in the international cricket with immediate effect. He recently played in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and was in scintillating form with the bat. Despite the fact that his team was knocked out of the tournament, De Villiers’ form was heartening for everyone. However, his retirement decision must have left teammates in shock and the man himself has admitted that his body was tired and he couldn’t pick and chose which matches to play.

He accepted that his body cannot handle the amount of cricket being played nowadays and he wanted to retire while playing decent cricket. De Villiers went back to the cricket club where he started playing the game 14 years ago and announced the shocking decision.

It’s time for others to take over

“Hi, this is the Tuks Cricket Club at the High-Performance Centre in Pretoria where 14 seasons ago I arrived as a nervous youngster when I was first called into the Proteas squad. Today, at the same place, I want to let you know that I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect. After 114 Test matches,  228 ODIs and 78 T20Is, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn and to be honest, I am tired, he said on his official app ‘AB 17’.

AB de Villiers admitted that it was a tough decision for him to take but at the same time believed that it was the right time to move on. He was happy that his international career ended with the wins over the best teams like India and Australia and also believed that it was not fair on his part to pick and choose the formats to play.

“This is a tough decision. I 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 is the right time to step aside. It would not be right for me to pick and choose where and when and in what format I play for the Proteas. For me, in Green and Gold, it must be everything or nothing. I will always be grateful for my teammates, the coaches and the staff of Cricket South Africa (CSA),” he added.

Will be available for Titans

He also stressed that he will continue playing for Titans in domestic cricket while playing cricket overseas as well. “I have my plans to play overseas, in fact, I hope I can continue to be available for the Titans in domestic cricket,” De Villiers went on to say. However, he didn’t forget to thank his fans in South Africa and around the world for understanding him and supporting him during his illustrious career.

“To Cricket fans in South Africa and around the World, thank you very much for your kindness, your generosity and today, for your understanding,” one of the best cricketers of the current generations concluded.

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