South Africa star batsman AB de Villiers is in line to make his international comeback today. There is every indication that he will be part of at least the T20 squad for the series against Australia that starts this Friday. South Africa announce their limited-overs team later today. Incidentally, his last international match came against Australia in 2018.
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Following the series, he flew to India to play IPL 2018 and made the shocking announcement after returning back in May. As confirmed, De Villiers was available for the 2019 World Cup as well but his proposal was turned down.
A change in the team management has seen South Africa considering his comeback offer seriously and head coach Mark Boucher has, on occasions, confirmed that De Villiers will be back for the T20 World Cup.
The veteran cricket has been spending most time with his family – one of the reasons behind retirement. Barring IPL and Mzansi Super League, he hasn’t played complete season of any league he has been part of since retiring from international cricket. Also, he decided against participating in the Pakistan Super League 2020.
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He is confirmed to play the complete season of IPL 2020 and might play an international fixture just before the league.
Apart from De Villiers, all eyes will also be on Faf du Plessis. The SA captain hasn’t played any white-ball game since World Cup 2019. He returned for Tests but has been rested from all limited-overs fixtures since July 2019.
It also remains to be seen if South Africa persist with Quinton de Kock as captain or will Plessis take over the charge if he returns.
Proteas host Australia in six limited-overs matches from Friday. The three T20Is will be played on February 21, 23 and 26 in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, respectively. Following the T20Is, the two teams will play three ODIs on February 29, March 4 and 7. South Africa also have a three-match ODI series lined up against India just before IPL 2020.