South Africa’s AB de Villiers (C) plays a shot during their T20 cricket match against Sri Lanka on January 25, 2017, in Cape Town. – AB de Villiers marked his return to international cricket with a stylish half-century in South Africa’s Twenty20 clash against Sri Lanka at Newlands. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)
AB de Villiers has been set a deadline for Proteas return
AB de Villiers cannot be considered for the T20 World Cup if he does not make himself available for the three T20Is in Sri Lanka.
South Africa’s AB de Villiers (C) plays a shot during their T20 cricket match against Sri Lanka on January 25, 2017, in Cape Town. – AB de Villiers marked his return to international cricket with a stylish half-century in South Africa’s Twenty20 clash against Sri Lanka at Newlands. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)
Proteas Team Director has laid out a deadline for AB de Villiers to make himself available for national team duty if he wants to be considered for the T20 World Cup.
South Africa tour Sri Lanka before jetting off to the new world to face the West Indies in the USA and the Caribbean.
Deadlines for legends
Three veterans with uncertain status surrounding the T20 World Cup are De Villiers, Chris Morris and Imran Tahir. Among the group only de Villiers has formally retired from T20I cricket, but all three will need to make themselves available for the Proteas winter tours.
Like De Villiers, Morris has spent the summer playing in the Big Bash League while Tahir has been with the Dolphins aiding their bid for One-Day Cup glory.
Discussions between Director of Cricket Graeme Smith and de Villiers have taken place and Boucher revealed the deadline given to the players this week.
South Africa has no international engagements during the Indian Premier League allowing De Villiers, Morris and Tahir to fulfill their big-money commitments to their respective franchises.
“The big one is the IPL (Indian Premier League) so we decided to let those guys do the IPL and then afterwards make themselves available,” Boucher said at a sponsors event.
“From June 1, which is the Sri Lanka tour, those guys need to make themselves available. Whether we select them is another story.
“But they need to make themselves available if they want to put their hands up for a World Cup spot,” he said.
AB De Villiers still in the frame
De Villiers caused waves during last year’s Cricket World Cup when news broke that he had made himself available to the team at the 11th hour. This time around the Proteas will require a firm commitment a few months ahead of the T20 World Cup that gets underway in Australia in October.
In the absence of Tahir over the course of the summer, Tabraiz Shamsi has clearly established himself as the number one. Tahir being available will give the selectors a headache with both Bjorn Fortuin and George Linde pressing for a place in the team and the second spinner.
Tahir made himself available after jetting off from the Dolphins camp to play in the Pakistan Super League.
South Africa are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in June for three ODIs and three T20Is before making their way to the Caribbean where they will contest two Tests and five T20Is.
