South African legend AB de Villiers will not be making a return to international cricket to represent his national team for the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in October-November.
There was speculation surrounding whether he would be picked for the upcoming South Africa tour of the West Indies, where the Proteas will play five T20s along with two Tests.
However, any chances of him making a return was dismissed by Cricket South Africa (CSA) after they released a statement on Tuesday stating that the former Proteas star won’t be making a return to international cricket.
“Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final,” CSA tweeted.
AB de Villiers finalises international retirement.
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 18, 2021
Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final. pic.twitter.com/D3UDmaDAS2
De Villiers had retired from all forms of international cricket in May 2018, but stories about his potential comeback have frequented the news.
He is currently playing franchise T20 cricket across the globe and was most recently seen representing the Bangalore team in the now postponed Indian T20 League. The 37-year-old scored 207 runs and two fifties in seven games at an average of 51.75 before the league was halted earlier this month.
Meanwhile, CSA have also ignored star batsman Faf du Plessis for the T20 series in the Caribbean. A depleted South African squad was recently beaten by Pakistan at home in both the ODI and T20I series.
Featured photo: Twitter/ICC
