South African captain and talismanic batsman AB de Villers is considering his retirement from one form of the game as he wants to reduce his workload to keep himself fresh after years of a grueling international schedule.
The 31-year-old De Villers has been regarded as the backbone of the top ranked Test team, South Africa. But he wants to cut back on his participation in all forms of the game.
“There are a lot of rumours flying around but for the last two or three years, the only talk I’ve been doing is (about) keeping myself fresh and having a bit of rest here and there,” De Villiers said on Monday after the Afrikaans-language Rapport newspaper claimed he was retiring from international cricket.
“The most important thing for me is to just enjoy my cricket. Moving forward, it’s important to look at my schedule. That’s the talk in the camp, maybe for me not to play all kinds of cricket,” he said in a television interview before the start of the third day’s play in a Test against England at Kingsmead.
AB de Villiers indicated he may cut IPL schedule from his international tour dairy as for him it is difficult to play all games in hot and sultry Indian summer.
“If I play all the IPL (Indian Premier League) games, I do get tired towards the end of the season and so that’s the only thing I’ve been talking about over the last while to keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. I love representing my country and nothing has changed.”
De Villers workload has increased with his slection in the team as a wicketkeeper in the ongoing Test series against England to allow for an extra batsman in the line up. He had previously given up the gloves to concentrate on his batting.
De Villiers after a good show in ODI in India miserably failed in the Test series. His highest score in the Test series was 87 at M Chinnswamy Stadium, Bnagalore.
In the ongoing Test, he looked tired as he scored only 49 in the first innings against England on Sunday.
AB de Villiers averages in 51.39 and 54.21 in ODI cricket, in which he is the greatest entertainer amongst the current blokes of cricketers.
AB de Villiers has won the ICC ODI player of the year award. He ranks third in the current ICC ODI batsmen ranking.