About AB De Villiers retirement, he said that he had ‘run out of gas’ while announcing his retirement from international cricket. In his splendid cricket career, ABD has played in 114 Test matches, 228 one-day internationals and 78 Twenty20 matches for South Africa. When he misses the series against England that summer in 2017 he took time away from Test cricket. But, he returns to the red-ball side in December same year. He said in his announcement “I’ve had my turn and, to be honest, I’m tired. This is a tough decision. I’ve thought long and hard about it and I’d like to retire still playing decent cricket. It would not be right for me to pick and choose where, when and in what format I play for the Proteas.”
Besides, AB De Villiers retirement makes South African cricket sad because he was a former captain of South African Cricket in all formats of the game. From an early age, he used to play cricket and also excelled in other sports such as golf, rugby, and tennis. When he scored a double century in a match against India in 2008, he came first came to popularity. He is African to have ever done double century against India. Also, in that match, he scored a total of 217 runs and that is the highest in his career so far. Among other records as a South African is his fastest T20 50. He plays in a popular T20 cricket league named the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the IPL, he has played for Delhi Daredevils (DD) and currently plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Quick Stats Before of AB De Villiers retirement
AB De Villiers retirement message comes on May 23, 2018. Before his retirement from international cricket, he has made a lot of stats for his career. So, let’s see some quick notes before of AB De Villiers retirement from all type of international cricket.
Personal information
- Full name: Abraham Benjamin de Villiers
- Born: 17 February 1984 (age 34), Pretoria, South Africa
- Height: 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
- Role: Batsman, Wicket-keeper
- Batting: Right handed
- Bowling: Right-arm medium
International information
- National side: South Africa (2004–2018)
- Test debut (cap 298): 17 December 2004 v England
- Last Test: 30 March 2018 v Australia
- ODI shirt Number: 17
- ODI debut (cap 78): 2 February 2005 v England
- Last ODI: 13 February 2018 v India
- T20I shirt Number: 17
- T20I debut: 24 February 2006 v Australia
- Last T20I: 29 October 2017 v Bangladesh
Domestic team information
- Years: 2003–present
- Team: Northern
- Years: 2004–present
- Team: Titans (squad Number 17)
- Years: 2008–2010
- Team: Delhi Daredevils
- Years: 2011–present
- Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Years: 2016
- Team: Barbados Tridents
AB De Villiers Retirement is Fall of a Cricket Superstar
AB De Villiers retirement makes the cricket fans surprised and it looks like the fall of a cricket superstar. He was a debutant in the ‘Test’ series against England in 2004 where he played in a limited-over match a year later. His Test runs for South Africa is 8,765 and the batting average is more than 50 in both Test and ODI cricket. De Villiers’ final and 22nd Test century came against Australia in last March 2018. He holds the record for the fastest one-day century with only 31 balls against West Indies in January 2015. Moreover, making 100 from 75 balls against India in 2011 he holds the record for the fastest Test century by a South African.
Cricket South Africa President Chris Nenzani said about him, “AB is one of the all-time greats of South African cricket who has thrilled spectators around the world. It goes without saying that he is going to be greatly missed wherever international cricket is played.” When the Proteas beat Australia by 492 runs and clinched the series 3-1 in Johannesburg that was his final appearance for South Africa. He not only was the occasional wicketkeeper for South Africa but was featured for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In his video message about AB De Villiers retirement, he said, “no plans to play overseas and he hope to continue to be available for domestic cricket in South Africa.”
5 Possible Reasons for AB De Villiers Retirement
Fans are confused and shocked when they get the news of AB De Villiers retirement from international cricket. Because of the Cricket World Cup 2019 ahead, many had apprehended this news. We have tried to find out 5 possible reasons on this note regarding AB De Villiers retirement from cricket.
#1 Rigors of international cricket
Since January this year, AB de Villiers has been playing non-stop cricket. As the South Africa home series generally ends in March and then the Indian Premier League (IPL) starts in April. That can become really taxing as de Villiers himself said. As you know de Villiers made his international debut in the Test series against England in 2004. And he gets ODI debut a year later as well. It looks like that he has a lot of time to continue playing cricket.
#2 Lack of pay parity between clubs and international teams
Reports indicate that AB could not make in his entire career playing for South Africa what Jonathan Trot made from playing for six years for England. So, this is an evident lack of pay parity between clubs and international teams. Besides, Cricket South Africa (CSA) is short of funds after the cancellation of the Global T20 league. But, the IPL pays a lot more. Although this might not the factor of AB De Villiers retirement from international cricket, it’s the point has been brought up several cricket analysts.
#3 His Personal Fitness Concerns
AB De Villiers took a year-long break from cricket from 2016-17. It seems a bit that his personal fitness and mental health have not been at the very best. It can be assumed that his mind and heart were not at the right place while keeping this in mind. Moreover, the legend himself said that he feels he has run out of fuel in his tank and is now tired in his retirement video.
#4 Age factor
As he has been playing cricket for the past 12 years, he is 34 years old. He can spend some time with family, as so many cricketers in the past have done. So, the age could be another reason of AB De Villiers retirement from international cricket.
#5 South Africa’s poor international schedule
As South Africa’s international schedule has not been so competitive, this could be the most considerable reason behind his retirement plans. For example, South Africa plays Sri Lanka and Pakistan this year, but AB De Villiers doesn’t have much to prove against. Besides, the big cricket series are few for South Africa. But, he would thus have thought it better to call it a day, rather than facing the rigors of traveling and playing weaker teams.
Last Gentleman of the Game Left the Field
When the ‘Last Gentleman of the Game’ AB de Villiers retirement declaration comes, it looks a part of cricket died in all of us on May 23, 2018. The man is known as ‘Mr. 360’ has hung up his boots, bowlers’ world over can breathe a sigh of relief forever. Although his retirement came rather unexpectedly, it made shocked the cricket fans and fraternity worldwide. Scoring runs and pulling off impressive feats of athleticism AB was in fine form. Moreover, AB De Villiers amassed 480 runs at a blistering strike rate of 174.54In this edition of IPL.
Finally, AB de Villiers retirement will leave a huge void which will be highly difficult to fill one of the most loved cricketers across the globe. It’s the South African Cricket Team that has a devastating blow and they will sorely miss the presence of AB De Villiers in the locker room and on the field.
