Five Highs and Lows of AB De Villiers’ Captaincy

Aug 24, 2017 at 12:59 PM

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Five Highs and Lows of AB De Villiers’ Captaincy

The decision taken by AB De Villiers is an incredibly bold one, to say the least. After months of confrontations with the board officials and endless uncertainty, the South African batting great finally spoke about his decision in a bid to prolong his international career. With immediate effect, de Villiers has quit ODI captaincy and shall be available for South Africa in all three forms of the game.

More than him quitting captaincy, this news should be regarded for the fact that de Villiers has made himself available for the side in all formats. Though his ODI numbers may outshine his Test credentials, the fact remains de Villiers is as big an asset in Tests, as he is in ODI’s. Without him, the Proteas batting struggled miserably in England, as the absence of a steady middle order batsman was evident throughout the English summer.

The home Tests against Bangladesh will in all probability be de Villiers’ comeback series in the longest form of the game. Considering South Africa has two enormous challenges at home coming up, in the form of India and Australia, having the veteran back in the scheme of things for Tests, was just the need of the hour.

Now that he had bid adieu to captaincy, below, we have a look at the five highs and lows for South Africa, under the leadership of AB de Villiers.

  1. The 4-1 series loss to Australia (2014/15):
Image Courtesy: Getty Images

When de Villiers took over South Africa’s ODI captaincy in late 2011, he was assigned with the primary objective to bring home the 2015 World Cup in Australia.

In the lead up to the duration, de Villiers made that look like a possibility as under his astute leadership; the Proteas emerged as a dominant ODI powerhouse. The team embarked on a winning spree across all conditions, and that pretty much meant South Africa were the side to watch out for in the World Cup.

However, barely three months before the World Cup, South Africa had to deal with a major setback, in the form of a 4-1 series defeat to Australia, Down Under. Against a rejuvenated Australian outfit in their backyard, de Villiers’ men were found wanting, and the five matches resulted in humiliation.

Fair to say, it wasn’t the ideal preparation South Africa wanted, with the World Cup ever so close. As captain, that series stood as de Villiers’ best chance of beating Australia and further sending shockwaves to the hosts of the tournament. Personally though, in that series, the batsman amassed 271 runs in four games and had a fine outing.

  1. ICC World Cup 2015 Semi-final Loss:
Image Courtesy: Getty Images

As mentioned in the point above, the World Cup Down Under stood as South Africa’s best chance of lifting the coveted title for the first time. It was like a genuine now or never situation for the Proteas, as that tournament was termed as the final frontier for de Villiers.

Up till that tournament, the then South Africa captain had wrecked havoc with the bat and his numbers were beyond staggering. However, the team stuttered in the all important semi-final clash against New Zealand and thanks to a rain interrupted situation, the Proteas again had to return home empty handed.

That loss and exit were a stinging one as it meant not even the brilliance of de Villiers were good enough for the South Africans to win their first ever World Cup.

  1. ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Disaster:
Image Courtesy: Getty Images

As ironic as it may sound, but one of the biggest lows of de Villiers’ stint as the side’s captain, turned out to be his very last. The recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy marked an all time low for the worshipped batsman, as he couldn’t save South Africa’s sinking ship from severe humiliation.

Post the win against Sri Lanka; all the Proteas needed was a victory over Pakistan to secure their berth in the semi finals. Instead, a complete batting collapse saw Pakistan emerging on top, and de Villiers’ golden duck in that game was the last thing his side needed from him.

The next game against India was a must win, and a terrible mix up with Faf du Plessis meant his end and India were seizing the game. Throughout the competition, South Africa looked profusely jaded and lethargic in the outfield, and skipper ABD couldn’t just do anything about that.

A helpless man at the helm of a faded side is the perfect recipe for disaster!

  1. Success Rate and Players Flourishing under him:
Image Courtesy: Getty Images

In all, de Villiers led South Africa in a total of 103 games, winning 59 of those at a win percentage of 57.3. His win loss ratio too was extremely impressive at 1.51 wins per loss. However, the fascinating aspect about de Villiers as South Africa’s ODI captain was the approach of the side.

The Proteas played with a clear vision, direction, and purpose, with the sole motive of winning a game comprehensively. With de Villiers mainly at the stay, the Proteas transformed into a gigantic ODI batting powerhouse and wrecked havoc everywhere. To add to that, new comers such as Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, and Rilee Rossouw were among the few who flourished tremendously under the leadership of de Villiers.

Imran Tahir too, for a majority of his ODI career, has bowled under de Villiers and has flourished.

  1. ODI Series win in India (2015):
Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Undoubtedly the biggest achievement for de Villiers as an ODI captain was the series victory in India in October 2015. The series, barring the last ODI, was a fiercely contested affair with South Africa creating history by registering their first ever ODI series win in India.

And it was captain marvelous AB de Villiers right in the center of attraction yet again, as he single handedly defined the fight from South Africa. In the five games, de Villiers made merry, registering tons at Kanpur, Chennai and Mumbai, the first and third in victorious causes. Scoring 358 runs in five games at a strike rate of 134.58, the iconic batsman single handedly drove the Proteas to glory in the ODI affair.

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