AB de Villiers responds to rumours of retirement, indicates will give the IPL a miss

AB de Villiers, the rumours of whose impending retirement put the cricket world into a tizzy on Sunday, spoke on his future on the sidelines of the South Africa – England Test being played at Durban, quashing reports that he was thinking of hanging up his boots.

While confirming that his body was a concern these days, the 31-year-old insisted that none of his desire to play for South Africa had diminished, rather suggesting that he would not be part of tournaments like the IPL anymore.

He told host broadcasters SuperSport: "There are a lot of rumours flying around I hear, but for the last two to three years the only talk I've been doing is to keep myself fresh and to have a bit of rest here and there.

"It's always been the most important thing for me to enjoy my cricket. It's just important to look at the schedule moving forward, that's the talk in the camp and for me maybe not to play all kinds of cricket.

"If I play all the IPL (Indian Premier League) games the whole season, I do get a bit tired towards the end.

"That's the only thing that I've been talking about in the last while. To keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. I love representing my country and nothing has changed."

Problems within Proteas camp

Rapport, a South African newspaper publication reported that many of the de Villiers’ current and former teammates revealed that certain developments in recent years in South African cricket have made de Villiers considers his future in the longest format of the game.

The newspaper claimed that an injury-stricken Vernon Philander's selection ahead of an in-form Kyle Abbott in the 2015 ICC World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, in spite of having a hamstring injury is just one of the many reasons that have led to de Villiers’ disappointment with the current state of South African cricket affair.

The same publication had also indicated that Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were also considering retirement, irritated with the racial policy that makes it mandatory for all South Africa teams to have six players of colour, and at least, three black Africans.

It would be a fervent hope of cricket fans all around that the duo of De Villiers and Steyn, who probably have the biggest fan following among neutral supporters, carry on playing the game for as long as possible.

source:sportskeeda.com

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