AB de Villiers ‘absolutely interested’ to make South Africa comeback

AB de Villiers, the former South African cricketer, said that he’s raring to don the national jersey almost three years after he announced his retirement from the highest level. The 37-year-old last represented the Proteas in the Johannesburg Test against Australia back in March-April 2018. In the very next month, he put forth his decision of hanging his boots at the age of 34.

Into his late 30s, the Pretoria-born hasn’t given up hopes of making a national comeback. The veteran stated that he would be having a chat with Mark Boucher, the South Africa head coach. De Villiers put forth his opinions after the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Chepauk.

“It will be fantastic to play for South Africa again, I will be speaking with Boucher late end of IPL – last year, he asked me whether I am interested and I said ‘absolutely’,” De Villiers told in the post-match press conference.

In the IPL match on Sunday, De Villiers turned out to be the Player of the Match after his unbeaten 34-ball 76 with nine fours and three sixes. On the back of his knock, Virat Kohli and Co won the match by 38 runs after posting 204 runs on the board.

The right-hander came to bat in the 13th over after Devdutt Padikkal’s dismissal and he pressed the accelerator right from the outset. He got the apt support from Glenn Maxwell, who managed 78 runs off 49 balls. The duo also shared a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket.

I love playing for RCB: AB de Villiers

“I had a lot of fun out there. It helped with Maxi playing well upfront and it made it really easy and gave the guys confidence that it’s not unplayable. It’s difficult when you come into games like these where the wicket tends to be a bit slow, you gotta break the shackles individually which some of our players did tonight,” he stated.

“It was definitely a better wicket, probably not a 200 wicket. I surprise myself sometimes and you just gotta go out there and give out your best the most important thing is I enjoy myself and I love playing for this team,” De Villiers added.