“The fire is there to make a difference,” says AB de Villiers on national comeback

AB de Villiers on national comeback: The former South African captain sounds eager to come out of international retirement.

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has expressed keen interest in playing the 13th season of the Indian Premier League this year for it is likely to decide his future with respect to coming out of retirement and representing South Africa after more than two years.

“I’ve to assess my situation every single day and see where I’m at. I just want to get back to a cricket field. Hopefully, the IPL happens this year. I just want to get going, after which I will reassess and I will have a look at where I’m at – with regards to my body, family and hunger, all of these things play a big role.

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“I don’t know where I’m gonna be in six months time, but hopefully everything works out and I get the opportunity to contribute to whichever team I play for,” de Villiers told Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz.

De Villiers, who made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals (now Daredevils) in 2008, has been playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2011. In 127 matches for RCB, de Villiers has amassed 3,755 runs at an average of 41.72 and a strike rate of 159.18 including two centuries and 30 half-centuries.

AB de Villiers on national comeback

Having announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018, de Villiers has been part of T20 leagues around the world. However, there have been developments around his international comeback in the recent past. Before the IPL, de Villiers will also feature in the 3TC tournament in Centurion.

Speaking on the prospect of him playing for South Africa again, de Villiers revealed the zeal to don the national jersey again.

Had it not been the COVID-19 pandemic, there surely would have been more clarity regarding the same. However, with the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 looking set to get postponed, the 36-year old player might get more time to prepare for an international comeback.

“I’ll never get rid of the competitive edge [to win matches for South Africa]. I’ve had to work really hard to be a part of the Proteas setup throughout my career – which I’m very proud of. That fire will never go away, I want the guys to do well, and if I could be a part of it, it would be fantastic.

“This lockdown didn’t come at a great time, I was interested and very keen to be a part of the national team setup, even if it was just working with the guys. I’m very open to anything. The fire is there to make a difference to the guys and it’s always been there,” de Villiers said.