Published: Aug 11, 2017, 06:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 11, 2017, 06:53 PM (IST)
Since January 2016, AB de Villiers has played a mere 3 Tests due to injuries. He had earlier planned to meet Cricket South Africa (CSA) and decide on his future. Whether he will continue playing is a question only time will tell. However, his friend and captain Faf du Plessis earlier this week confirmed that de Villiers has not retired yet. “The last time I spoke to him, he wasn’t keen to play yet again. So from my point of view I’m not expecting him to come back. Whether we win or lose people always want AB to play, because he is the best player in the team,” du Plessis said after South Africa lost to England 3-1.
Amidst all, former cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince indulged in disagreement, followed by Paul Harris asking the latter to not take this matter on social media.
Both Gibbs and Prince criticised de Villiers for his continuous unavailability in Tests. Gibbs termed the absence as ‘disrespecting the team and the game’. Here is the series of tweets:
Interesting article this..captain putting a player on a pedestal! Never thought I’d see this..anyway pic.twitter.com/F6u17j0sVD
— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) August 11, 2017
Kallis achieved more than ab ever will but he kept on playing and never disrespected the team and the game.remember that — Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) August 11, 2017
I don’t disagree but I think there’s a fear in cricket admin players need to be handled different – they can survive outside intl cricket. — nik kershaw (@kersh63) August 11, 2017
Everyone has to win the World Cup for AB. His cult has seen him turned into some sort of demigod
— Kaylan Geekie (@KaylanGeekie) August 11, 2017
Prince then joined the conversation, saying, “There must be a tipping point where players become bigger than the Nation.”
Ridiculous statement @hershybru just wondering at which point then @amlahash will be allowed to do what he wants. Soon it’s free for all. https://t.co/UtzYmi2daz — Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) August 11, 2017
He, Smith did recently say AB could do whatever he wants to. There must be a tipping point where players become bigger than the Nation. https://t.co/NxULmKtEGy
— Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) August 11, 2017
And as soon as it sparked disagreement, Harris said, “O my word Ash….why always looking for a fight. We were all team mates once. There are better ways of going about it than Twitter. Surely.”
@paulharris12 Didn’t hear you say that when both Biff and Faf hung Vern out to dry in public did I? Some #proteafire they’ve got going there https://t.co/Eupnge82aO — Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) August 11, 2017
Oh wow! Love it when true colors come out. In case you didn’t realize, it’s 2017, everyone’s entitled to an opinion. But we understand…. https://t.co/L5fZJ1zifk
— Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) August 11, 2017
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du Plessis, however, had said that de Villiers earned the right to take the call on his unavailability. “But we’ve played a year and a half without him. I hope that he comes back and plays, but I’m not expecting him to, and I’m preparing to look ahead without him. I need to try and get it out there that people must expect that it’s probably not going to happen. We don’t want to lie about it. If he’s not coming back, then he’s not coming back, but I can’t make that decision for AB. AB has earned the right to do whatever he wants to. He’s played 100 Tests, he’s played away from home from 12 years. He’s done everything he could possibly achieve, apart from winning the World Cup.”
