Published: Aug 23, 2017, 10:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 23, 2017, 10:51 PM (IST)
Sports fanatics around the globe were coming in terms with Wayne Rooney’s international retirement when AB de Villiers decided to drop a bombshell. It is often agonising being sports reporters at this hour as you cannot help going down memory lanes and re-live those amusing moments. Oh wait. De Villiers has not retired, yet. However, his giving up South Africa’s ODI captaincy at 33 only suggests that his days in this sport are numbered. ALSO READ: AB de Villiers resigns as South Africa ODI captain
The good news for fans is the fact that AB committed to represent South Africa in all three formats. In a statement, de Villiers mentioned: “Faf du Plessis has proved to be an outstanding captain of the Twenty20 and Test teams. Bearing this in mind, I have informed Cricket South Africa that I would like to step down as ODI captain. It has been an honour to lead the team for the past six years, but it is now time for someone else to take the ODI side forward. Whoever is chosen as the new ODI captain will have my complete support.”
In recent times de Villiers has picked and chosen games and he made the notions clear that it was never the case that he put himself ahead of the country.
“That is simply not true. That has never been true. Playing for South Africa is, and will always be, the greatest privilege of my life,” he said. He mentioned that he needed a break and mentioned he feels revived and refreshed at the moment. He has announced that he is available for selection across formats.
De Villiers is arguably the greatest batsman of this era and his giving up captaincy were met with mixed emotions. While some were disappointed, others celebrated the idea of watching a free de Villiers. We bring you some of the tweets from the cyberspace.
Ab de villiers come back all three formates. good news for all cricket fans. #proteafire king is back into the action.
— Richard (@richardr1602) August 23, 2017
ABD resigns before a BD series.#BadPun — Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) August 23, 2017
BREAKING NEWS AB de Villiers quits Proteas captaincy, but is available in all three formats this summer! https://t.co/1Y1xKHvgKr — DYR FM SPORTS (@dyrsports) August 23, 2017
Hopefully with no burden of captaincy on his shoulder, #ABdeVilliers will now be able to play untamed. — Vishal Mehra (@capturethecatch) August 23, 2017
AB de Villiers gives up the ODI captaincy. The right decision. Now he can change the south african cricket as a player — Vinay Shekawat (@VinayShekawat) August 23, 2017
Highest Batting Strike Rate as ODI Captain (Min.50 innings) 120.11 B McCullum 110.48 AB DE VILLIERS 105.74 N Kapil Dev#ABDevilliers — Jithu Jose Parackal (@straight_edge24) August 23, 2017
Highest Batting Avg as ODI Captain (Min.50 innings) 63.94 AB DE VILLIERS** 53.92 MS Dhoni 46.67 E Morgan 45.75 M Clarke#ABDevilliers — Jithu Jose Parackal (@straight_edge24) August 23, 2017
.@ABdeVilliers17 another 5 years, mate… keeping going. Good decision — Suvajit Mustafi (@RibsGully) August 23, 2017
AB de Villiers just announced that he’s back to playing all three formats.
Indian Cricket fans: pic.twitter.com/k9W3lU4qPS
— Grown-Up Gambino (@C_Mbadu) August 23, 2017
.@ABdeVilliers17 another 5 years, mate… keeping going. Good decision — Suvajit Mustafi (@RibsGully) August 23, 2017
AB de Villiers & Dale Steyn are back. FINALLY pic.twitter.com/4I7oFopEu7
— Ankie Shekhawat (@Ankieshekhawat) August 23, 2017
TRENDING NOW
South Africa host Bangladesh, India and Australia in 2017-18. In all probability du Plessis should get the ODI captaincy. With de Villiers on his side, we are looking at a stronger South Africa side.
