AB de Villiers to play Mzansi Super League

AB de Villiers to play Mzansi Super League: Former South African captain will be seen making a comeback to cricket next month.

AB de Villiers, former South African captain and one of the most admired cricketers of the modern times, is set to make a comeback on the cricket field after a six-month break. Having retired from international cricket in May this year, this will be de Villiers’ first cricketing assignment since then.

De Villiers, 34, will turn up for Tshwane Spartans in the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League, Cricket South Africa’s new T20 competition. After announcing a domestic T20 league last year to not being able to execute it, the upcoming tourney speaks of more affirmative signs for cricket in South Africa.

“I haven’t played cricket for a while, but I am getting back into the swing of things. I have had these kinds of breaks before and it is always a challenge to get fit and hit balls again. I am really looking forward to that, and what will be a really good challenge in the Mzansi Super League,” de Villiers said at the launch of their home ground in SuperSport Park.

In the 251 T20s that de Villiers has played in his almost decade and a half long career, he has amassed 6,645 runs at an average of 35.36 and a strike rate of 147.91, including three centuries and 45 half-centuries. His numbers in T20s were better than his numbers while playing the same format for South Africa (1,672 runs in 78 matches at an average of 26.12 and a strike rate of 135.16).

De Villiers agreed to the fact that this tournament will be a ‘huge step’ for Cricket South Africa. “It is a huge step in the right direction for Cricket South Africa, and South African cricket. As a unit, we’ll be looking to not just pull this tournament off, but make it a great spectacle for fans around the world to enjoy,” he added.

On being asked about the potential of the tourney and where it could lead the game in South Africa to, de Villiers said that the tournament will get better every single year.

“It is difficult to say [how big the MSL could get] but the potential is huge. This tournament will give us a feel of what to expect and where it is going to go, but it will get better every single year. In the beginning, the IPL was a bit slow because people did not know where it was going to go, but look at it now,” he further added.

Read some of the recent Twitter reactions on de Villiers below: