Why South Africa desperately need AB de Villiers to return

The last time a certain AB de Villiers turned out for his national side was in March 2018. It was a Test match against Australia at the Wanderers, and it was de Villiers’ 114th Test for his country. After that he turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and at the end of the tournament, he shockingly announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018. He was just 33 years old.

The batting maestro said that he was ‘tired’ and of playing too much cricket. In fact, this was de Villiers’ exact statement.

"After 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, 78 T20Is. It is time for others to take over. I have had my turn and to be honest I am tired. This is a tough decision. I have thought long and hard about it. I would like to retire still playing decent cricket. After the fantastic series win against India and Australia, now feels the right time to step aside. It would not be right for me to pick and choose where and when and in what format I play for the Proteas. For me in green and gold, it must be everything or nothing. I will always be grateful to my teammates, coaches and the staff of Cricket South Africa for their support through all these years."

He was just 33, was in supreme form, but walked away from the game mysteriously. More than a year later, news surfaced that the great man had offered to return to his national side for the 2019 World Cup, but his offer was rejected. Till today, news has been floating around that he is still in talks for a return to the national side.

This is what head coach Mark Boucher had to say.

“If AB is in good form and he is raring to go and he makes himself available for the time we have asked him to be available; if he is the best man for the job, then he must go. It’s not about egos or anything like that, it’s about sending your best team to the World Cup to try and win that competition"

Also see – World Test Championship points table

Today, he is 36 years old, but still has a lot of cricket left in him. In the recent Big Bash tournament, de Villiers again showcased his dazzling array of strokes when he blasted a sensational 71 off just 37 balls, showing that he still has what it takes to perform at the highest level.

The South African team has to understand that at this stage, they desperately need the presence of someone like De Villiers in the side. The likes of Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy and Morne Morkel have walked away from the game, leaving the side in a bad shape. In the 2019 World Cup too, the side came a cropper, finishing seventh in the overall standings.

Sometimes, teams need one individual who can turn things around, an individual who will act as the catalyst to propel the entire team. Sachin Tendulkar was pretty much the lone bright spot for India in the 1990s. The master’s ethereal exploits against the best teams in the world infused a sense of hope and possibility into the side. Match winners like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly cropped up to make the Indian side a force to reckon with again, with Tendulkar as the guiding light.

Ab de Villiers is a player of a very similar calibre. He is a man who can change the course of a game in a matter of a few overs, and it is this spark of brilliance that South Africa badly miss in their current set-up. They have already wasted enough time in having ‘talks’ about de Villiers’ return. And the more they delay, the worse it will get for the team.

de Villiers will go down as one of the greatest South African batsmen of all time, whether or not he plays further for his country. But at this point, it is South Africa who stand to gain from the presence of a Genius like De Villiers in their side.