South African head coach Mark Boucher had now stated the reason why AB de Villers is not in the South Africa’s latest squad against West Indies.
Cricket South Africa on Tuesday announced the squad for the West Indies tour and speculated AB de Villers name was missing even after the statements from Mark Boucher and AB himself in the IPL over his comeback from retirement.
Boucher gave reasons behind De Villiers’ decision, saying that he doesn’t want to snatch the place of a player who has been in the mix for a while.
“AB has his reasons, which I respect. Unfortunately he’s no longer in the mix. I say unfortunately because I think we all agree that he’s still one of the best – if not the best – T20 players in world cricket,” Boucher was quoted as saying by ‘The Citizen’ website “But he alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’t think it sat well with him, which I understand.
“But as a coach I needed to try and get our best players, for the team and the environment. AB is an energy-booster in any environment, but I respect his reasoning. It was worth a go, but now let’s move forward.”
It’s been four years since AB de Villers had announced his retirement in May 2018 and since then ahead of every mega tournament, he is considered as an option in the struggling South Africa’s middle-order but AB playing or opted never happened in reality.
The ICC World T20 is scheduled to be held in India in October-November. “If I can slot in, it will be fantastic,” De Villiers had said after he playing match-winning innings for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in the now-postponed IPL in April.
ABD has represented his national side in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20I before announcing a surprise retirement.
