The fact that AB de Villiers is literally worshipped by cricket fans across the globe hardly comes down as any surprise, as the South African has been an absolute batting machine. In so many ways, de Villiers alone has changed the dynamics of the game with his batting prowess and heroics. The one aspect, which makes de Villiers stand out from his contemporaries, lies in his ability to adjust to the changes in format.
While he is a complete beast in shorter formats, as he piles up records after records at eye popping strike rates, things yield something similar in the Test arena as well. In Tests, de Villiers averages in excess of 50 and has easily been South Africa’s best touring batsman in the last 3-4 years.
In a bid to manage his workload, the Proteas ODI captain opened up on his plans and admitted he wouldn’t be playing Test cricket on a regular basis. The batting legend was quick to admit that as of now, he would be skipping the Test tours of New Zealand and England. This has already been perceived as a great threat to the Proteas.
Former Australia Test skipper Steve Waugh was quick to admit that de Villiers’ absence from the ultimate form of the game will hurt Test cricket immensely.
“It’s disappointing to hear that. AB De Villiers is a great player and kids look up to him,” said Waugh.
“You want him to play Test cricket. If he doesn’t play Test cricket then other players will take that lead and then all of a sudden you get a diluted Test Championship which will be damaging for the game in the long run,” Waugh concluded.