South Africa can shine despite De Villiers’ retirement: Miller
dubai — For a big team that has repeatedly come up short in the World Cup, the international retirement of Ab de Villiers has dealt a big blow to South Africa’s hopes of ending their drought on the biggest stage next year.
The 34-year-old De Villiers, arguably the most versatile batsman the game has seen, shocked the cricketing world when he decided to end his glittering international career in May this year.
And David Miller, the flamboyant South African limited-overs batsman, admitted that De Villiers’ retirement is a big blow for his country ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England. “It’s obviously a huge loss for South African cricket,” Miller told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview.
“He was an outstanding cricketer, one of the best batsmen the game has ever seen. It was obviously a great honour to play alongside him. But he has a made a decision and we have to respect him,” said Miller who has joined the ambitious UAE T20 League as a marquee player.
But Miller says South Africa have what it takes to shine without their brightest batting star.
“His retirement gives new players a chance to shine and do well for South Africa. We have to move on as a team and try to find new ways to play well without him. The new players need to step up. There are a lot of promising young players. I am sure they will grab their chances,” Miller said.
Does he expect De Villiers (114 Tests, 8765 runs, 100s 22, average 50.66; ODIs 228, runs 9577, 100s 25, average 53.50) to come out of retirement if South Africa need him?
“No. I don’t expect him to come out of it to be very honest. He has made a decision and I don’t think he will change it. I think we need to move on as a team. As I said, it’s a huge loss. But it also give opportunities to new players,” Miller said.
Despite Miller’s magnificent 18-ball 49, South Africa lost a lastover thriller to New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup semifinal. It was another heartbreaking exit from the World Cup for a country that has given some of the greatest teams in history.
“I honestly don’t have an answer if you ask me what we need to do differently to win a World Cup,” Miller conceded.
“If I had the answer to that question, we would have won the World Cup in 2015. You know lot of things need to fall in place to win a tournament like the World Cup. Only one team can win it and you need a bit of luck along the way,” he said.
“But we have to keep trying our best. We have lot of quality in the team. Hopefully, we will also get some luck along the way.”
It’s obviously a huge loss for South African cricket
David Miller