South African cricket great AB de Villiers has taken to social media to deny accusations of racism leveled at him. Photo: Gallo Images
Ex-Proteas batter AB de Villiers reveals the secret role he has been playing for SA Cricket development
Former Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers has revealed his ambitions to work within the structures of South African post-retirement.
South African cricket great AB de Villiers has taken to social media to deny accusations of racism leveled at him. Photo: Gallo Images
Former Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers has revealed his ambitions to work within the structures of South African post-retirement.
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De Villiers retired from all forms of cricket late last year, having completely ruled out any possibility of returning to the Proteas fold months earlier.
A lot of SA cricket fans hoped for his return
That statement alone crushed the spirits of many a Proteas fan, who had been clinging on to any sight hope that, they would get to see de Villiers in the green and gold South African cricket jersey again. However, despite a year of publicly flirting with the idea of a sensational return, both CSA and de Villiers seemed to finally accept that his international career had come to an end.
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That is, of course an illustrious international career, which daw de Villiers represent the Proteas for 16 years at the highest level. In that period he amassed all of 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20s for South Africa, doubling up as wicketkeeper-batsman. He was also no slouch on the field when deployed else where when not wearing the gloves behind the stumps.
A natural record breaker for the Proteas
But it was undoubtedly with the bat in hand where de Villiers made his name and shone the most for the Proteas. The 37-year-old notched up a mind-boggling 20,017 runs across all formats of the game for South Africa. He also holds the unique record of being the fastest batter to reach in 50, 100 and 150 in ODIs.
Speaking to TimesLIVE de Villiers said that, although the picture is looking a bit blurry for his future within the sport as it stands, post retirement, he did harbour ambitions of getting involved in the South African cricket structures.
Reveals ambitions to work within SA cricket structures
“I still believe that I have a role to play in SA cricket and also over there in the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), I have no idea what will come next but I will take it one day at a time and see.” Said de Villiers.
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De Villiers then reveals the good Samaritan role he has secretly been playing for South African cricket behind the scenes
The secret role de Villiers has already been playing
“I have been looking after and mentoring some youngsters with potential and ability for the last few years. No one knows about it and hopefully I can look back one day in the future knowing that I have made a big difference in the lives of a few players. That is my focus for now and I don’t know if it’s going to be professional or on a casual basis, but we will see where we go with that.” De Villiers continued.
