5 reasons why South Africa failed at the World T20

#2 Uncertainty over AB de Villiers’ position:

De Villiers’ T20I record isn’t as remarkable as that in the other two formats

De Villiers has been one of the best batsmen in modern cricket, but his T20I record isn’t as remarkable as that in the other two formats. He has not been able to inspire an inconsistent batting line-up to rise from its mediocrity.

Before the World T20 started, De Villiers had partially found form by scoring a half-century against England, only his second fifty in this format till then. There was a lot of talk about giving as many deliveries to De Villiers to settle down, and the importance of providing him the opening slot.

Yet, they persisted with the idea of opening with De Kock and Amla, and AB was suddenly pushed down again, sometimes as low as No.5. Apart from the 64 against Afghanistan, he could make little impact with the bat.