De Villiers retirement stumps fans, teammates
NEW DELHI: AB de Villiers surprised the cricketing world on Wednesday by announcing his retirement from international cricket.
In a statement on his official Twitter handle, the former Proteas skipper said, “After 114 Test matches, 228 ODIS and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired. I’d like to retire while still playing decent cricket. After the fantastic series wins against India and Australia, now feels like the right time to step aside.
“It’s not about earning more somewhere else, it’s about running out of gas and feeling that it is the right time to move on. Everything comes to an end.” There had been uncertainty over the 34-year-old player’s South Africa career for some time though it was expected that he would continue until the 2019 World Cup to help SA realize the dream of winning the prize that has eluded them.
Former SA spearhead Allan Donald said: “So shocked to (hear) AB de Villiers has decided to call time on his international career. But that’s just life and he feels it’s time to move on. Thank you great man for your amazing Match winning Performances, Skill Captaincy and most of all your Humility,” he tweeted.
Ex-india batsman VVS Laxman hailed the player. “Many congratulations @Abdevilliers17 on a glorious Cricket career. You enriched the game with your ability, presence and mannerisms and will continue to be a role-model for aspiring cricketers. Wish you a very happy post-retirement life,” he tweeted.
The 34-year-old, known as Mr 360 for his ability to play innovative shots around the ground, holds the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODIS, all against West Indies.
He smashed a 31-ball 100 in Johannesburg in 2015 and hit a 66-ball 162 in the 2015 World Cup encounter in Sydney. In IPL, De Villiers has scored 3953 runs at a strike-rate of over 150.
England Test skipper Joe Root played down burnout concerns over his desire to play all formats. He said at Lord’s: “I think it is very different. If you look at someone like AB, he has had a wonderful career, done freakish things in the game across three formats and he has been a great servant to South Africa. But he has been doing it for 12, 14 years, a long time, and by anyone’s standards that is a long career.”