A day before the final announcement of South Africa's 15-man squad for the ICC World Cup, former skipper AB de Villiers had reportedly offered to come out of retirement to play the quadrennial tournament.
The 35-year-old batsman's offer was rejected by the South Africa team management, therefore, ending his chance to represent South Africa at the World Cup once again, according to a Cricinfo report.
De Villiers is believed to have approached South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis, head coach Ottis Gibson and convenor of selectors Linda Zondi, expressing his desire to reverse his retirement, but was told that this would not be possible.
The report stated that the reason behind this rejection was that de Villiers did not “fulfill the selection criteria.” As per the country’s selection criteria, a player is required to play domestic or international cricket, in the months leading to the world cup.
De Villiers retired from from all international competitions in May 2018.
‘I am Tired,’ Says de Villiers on International Retirement
At the time of his retirement, de Villiers who is regarded as one of the best of his generation, said "its time for others to take over."
In his career, the right-handed batsman played 114 Tests and 228 ODIs. His last Test series was a historic one for the Proteas as they defeated Australia at home, first time since 1970.
De Villiers played an integral part in that victory, proving he was still one of the best batsmen in the world.
Crucial Time to Return?
Had he been selected in the current squad, De Villiers could’ve played a prominent role in the team, given their disappointing performance in the on-going World Cup.
South Africa has played three games and have lost all of them.
(With inputs from Cricinfo)
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