IPL Has Been Incredible But South Africa Always Comes First, Says AB de Villiers

Aug 30, 2017 at 12:51 PM

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IPL Has Been Incredible But South Africa Always Comes First, Says AB de Villiers

After ending all speculations surrounding his career, AB de Villiers, on Tuesday (August 29), said his self-imposed exile from Test cricket has helped him to ‘press the reset button and in remembering what happened in the last 12-odd years’.

De Villiers’ career was in limbo following his break from the longest format of the game. His last Test appearance had come in the final match of the series against England in January 2016. An elbow injury kept him out of series against New Zealand and Australia, and then he made himself unavailable for the format. He also missed the series against England last month, attracting critics for leaving South Africa Cricket in a mess.

However, the star batsman recently made himself available for selection in all the formats of the game and is now ‘refreshed, revived and ready to go’.

“The break has helped me press the reset button and in remembering what happened in the last 12-odd years. It was also about assessing where I want to go and what I need to achieve. I always had that burning desire and the hunger to do special things for my side. There is still more to achieve. I feel refreshed, revived and ready to go. I spent a lot of time with my family. I realised that was more important to me in life. But it’s time to make a return now. And enjoy the last few years of my career – whether it’s three to five to seven years,” said de Villiers who was in Chennai as global brand ambassador of MRF for a product launch.

De Villiers’ absence and some of his compatriots’ decision to sign Kolpak deals has led to debates that the players are prioritising franchise cricket like the Indian Premier League and other lucrative career offers but the former South Africa captain quashed all the suggestions by saying that country always comes first.

“For me, South Africa always comes first. IPL has been an incredible lesson for me and my family. I have enjoyed every second of my stay in India and hopefully, there are many more years to come. But cricket in South Africa will always be a top priority for me and I think it’s the same for any South African. Once those corners are cut off and you realise you can’t represent the country anymore and the chances are less, I have no problem with someone going to play cricket (England, India or Australia) elsewhere,” he said.

De Villiers, who hasn’t played a Test since January 2016, further said he is unsure of getting a place in the team when it takes on Bangladesh and India in the coming months but hoped to be a part of it. He also said that the series against India, who are currently the number one Test side in the world, is going to be great.

“Firstly, I haven’t played for a while in the Test arena. So it’s not my decision whether I am going to be in the team or not. Hopefully, I will be selected. No one has got the right to just walk into a team. I want to be in the best possible form to be selected in the Test side,” de Villiers said.

Credits: Getty

“The series against India is going to be great. They have given us a run for the money when we last played in South Africa in 2013. Hopefully, I will be with the boys on the park to compete against some of my opponents and also teammates (IPL) from India,” he added.

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