sanjeev
khelja|22-01-2025
Former South Africa skipper and a legend of the game in his own right, AB de Villiers is mulling a comeback from retirement, more than three years after he hung up his boots.
De Villiers mentioned that it might not be professional tours or at the highest level, but casual cricket after succumbing to the pressure exerted by his kids. De Villiers retired in 2021 after playing his last for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL with his final appearance for South Africa coming in 2018.
"I might still play cricket one day," de Villiers teased while speaking to Melinda Farrell. "No confirmation whatsoever, but I’m starting to feel it. My kids are putting me under a bit of pressure, and I feel like I could go to the nets with them. if I enjoy it, maybe I'll walk out and go and play a little bit of casual cricket somewhere again and not professional IPL stuff or SA tours," the South African added.
De Villiers, who is the brand ambassador for the SA20, mentioned that the path may still be unclear as far as his return is concerned but he has gotten inspired by his kids, rediscovering his love for the game in a stress-free environment.
"Who knows? But we'll see. I'm gonna try it again and see if this eye is still working. It's a bit blurry, but this (the right one) is the dominant one, and it's working fine. So I'm doing it for my kids and see if I can go out there and enjoy cricket again," he added.
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Farrell asked him if Imran Tahir's agelessness, who is still playing and running as fast as he can at 45, was also a factor and de Villiers didn't deny it while joking that he could ask him to part of his plan.
"I'll maybe ask him to be in my team wherever I go. Just remember this: he's one of my favourite players. Nothing serious, though. We're not talking about RCB and big stuff. Yes, I don't want to feel that pressure again. That's the thing. So, wherever I go, I'll have a bit of fun," he added.
De Villiers mustered close to 20,000 runs in international cricket while playing for South Africa and also has 5,162 runs to his name in the IPL.