Ali Bacher Defends AB de Villiers’ Decision To Opt Out of Test Cricket
Jan 19, 2017 at 1:38 PM
South Africa ODI captain AB de Villiers has received backing from former skipper Ali Bacher regarding his decision to manage his workload. de Villiers, who remains South Africa’s biggest batting icon in shorter formats till date, recently admitted he would pick and choose tours to be a part of considering his workload. The record breaking batsman was quick to mention that participating in the 2019 World Cup is his ultimate ambition.
Off late, de Villiers was in the news as he took a bold call of not participating in the upcoming Test tours of New Zealand and England. This was met by criticism from a few members of Cricket South Africa as not all seemed please by AB’s decision.
Bacher, however, was completely supportive of de Villiers’ call.
“AB is an extraordinary individual and the amount of cricket he has played has taken its toll on his body. If he had to play all formats, his body will break down,” Bacher said. “He has made a wise decision to go about things cautiously and get his body ready to take on the world again.”
Admitting to the rigorous challenges of playing Test cricket, Bacher added:
“It is vigorous. The practice schedule and the playing. And he has been going like this since 2004. He has done so much and if he is not wise he will break down again. I have seen no difference in the way he feels about playing for South Africa.
“I got hold of Sachin Tendulkar, who was my first interviewee for the show in 2010, and I asked him to send me a few words about AB. He holds AB in such regard for the way he has changed the context of the modern game. AB is a special person and a special cricketer. South Africa must not forget that.”