For the first time in their cricket history, South Africa got defeated by an Asian team at their backyard in Test cricket. We are talking about Sri Lanka’s historic Test series win over South Africa. South Africa’s batting has been found wanting. On the other hand, AB de Villiers has endured a purple patch and he recently won a match for his side in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
2019 Cricket World Cup is not too far away. Connect the dots now. Quite simply, the moment the Proteas start underperforming, the demand for return of De Villiers starts gaining momentum. And why not, he is such a quality player.
Even AB misses playing for his country. He was qouted as saying by Standard Sport, “Playing at the highest level alongside your friends, scoring runs for your country are things that I look back and go, ‘Ah, I miss that a little bit.” But, he has moved on and has no intentions of making a magical return to the Proteas side.
He added, “I don’t miss 90 per cent of it. I’ve pretty much moved on. I’ve made peace with the fact that the World Cup will not define me. Yes, it would be nice to add that to what’s been a very enjoyable career, but I know it won’t define me as a person or cricketer.
“You can never keep everyone happy. I’ve always been a people pleaser. I’m very passionate about my country, but I’m at a stage of my life where I’ve moved on. There are people who think I should still be playing, but the international scene just became a little bit too much for me with my family and a few other things. You have to answer to yourself, look yourself in the mirror and that’s what I’ve done. The most important people to please are your family.”