TIL Desk Sports/ One of contemporary cricket’s greatest batsmen, AB de Villiers, has called time on his illustrious international career, claiming to be “out of gas” after 14 years in the top league.
The 34-year-old former South African skipper said his jaded body was no longer in a position to take the rigours of international cricket after a staggering 420 matches across three formats with over 20,000 runs and 47 hundreds. He averaged over 50 in both the Tests and ODIs.
“I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect. After 114 Test matches, 228 ODI’s and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired,” De Villiers announced through a video message on social networking site twitter.
This is a tough decision, I have thought long and hard about it and I’d like to retire while still playing decent cricket. After the fantastic series wins against India and Australia, now feels like the right time to step aside,” De Villiers’ decision epitomised the age-old truth of sport — quit when people ask “why” rather than “why not”.
While he remains a sought after player in leagues across the world and could have played the shorter formats, the affable Proteas dasher didn’t want to pick and choose. “It would not be right for me to pick and choose where, when and in what format I play for the Proteas. For me, in the green and gold, it must be everything or nothing.
