AB out of more Tests, but wants tilt at India
‘I still want to make that comeback, finish on a high, help us get back to No 1’
HE won’t be playing in the four Test matches against England in winter or in the two against Bangladesh in South Africa in September, but AB de Villiers does want to make a comeback to the five-day format at the end of the year and help South Africa regain the cherished top ranking in Test cricket.
The series against England is one of the choice assignments in the game, and Cricket South Africa were keen to have De Villiers back for the Tests in July and August, but he has targeted the series against India next summer – the dates have not yet been confirmed – for a return to Test cricket.
He stressed though it would only be after a spell of fourday domestic cricket for his franchise, the Titans.
“I’m very prepared to come back to the Titans, score my runs, prove a point that I’m still good enough to make the Test side,” said De Villiers. “It’s not like I’m going to walk back into the (Test) team.”
On Tuesday the star batsman, who has been out of action for a few months after having elbow surgery, withdrew from the three-match Test series in New Zealand in March.
“It was not an easy decision,” De Villiers said about withdrawing from the England Test series. “I’m just not ready. My priorities have changed over the years, I’ve played for 12-odd years, family has changed, my roles in the teams have changed over the years. A lot of things played a role in this decision.
“I wouldn’t like to think it’s the end, I still want to make that comeback, finish on a high and somehow have a say in us getting back that No 1 ranking which we deserve, given the way we’ve played in the last few months.”
De Villiers said he would not look beyond the four Tests against Australia next summer – scheduled for February and March 2018. “My dream plan is to come back for the eight Tests (against India and Australia) and that’s all I can say for now.
“My focus is on the 2019 World Cup. If I feel I’m physically incapable of making it after those two Test series, I’ll call it a day then... but we’ll make that call when I get there.”
He will, like other South Africans contracted to the event, play a portion of this year’s Indian Premier League before returning to South Africa to prepare for the three ODIs against England and then the ICC Champions Trophy which follows in June.
“The IPL has become almost a part of the ICC schedule... there’s a lot of reasons why all of us couldn’t say ‘no’ to the IPL. I’m definitely not playing Big Bash, you won’t see me in any county game or any other T20 tournament... it’s about playing for South Africa and in the IPL. I’m very committed to South African cricket still,” De Villiers remarked.
De Villiers reiterated that he was not under any pressure from his new bat sponsor about committing to all competitions or every international match regardless of the format. That deal is understood to be over three years and is said to be worth in the region of R28 million. “They want me to play as much cricket around the world in all formats. I still have to negotiate some details with them.”
South Africa’s four-match Test series against India, currently the five-day format’s No 1-ranked team, will be widely viewed in that cricket-mad country, giving the bat sponsor, who also sponsor De Villiers’ close friend Virat Kohli, a lot of air-time, with two of the most popular current players.
De Villiers will play his first competitive match for nearly six months on Sunday for the Northerns semi-professional ALSO INSIDE: Stormers’ pivotal call, P21 Hockey series in city, P21 Ernie backs Tiger, P23 side against Easterns in a 50-over game at Willowmoore Park. He said he still “felt” the elbow which required surgery after the Caribbean Premier League last year, but was reasonably comfortable when he last had a net a week ago.
“I can hit all my shots with the same type of power that I used to. There are one or two shots where I feel (the elbow) a little bit more than the others, but I’m not going to tell Sri Lanka before we play them which ones those are,” De Villiers said.
After Sunday, De Villiers hopes to be available for the final T20 international against the Sri Lankans at Newlands on Wednesday, following which he will resume captaincy duties for the five-match ODI series against the same opponents starting on 28 January.