AB de Villiers retirement to 'remain final' as South Africa announce squads for West Indies and Ireland tours
AB de Villiers had been in talks with South Africa head coach Mark Boucher about a return to the limited-overs side following his retirement from all international formats in May 2018.
In Short
- AB de Villiers's retirement will remain final, Cricket South Africa confirmed in a release
- CSA also announced South Africa's ODI, T20I and Test squads for the upcoming tours of West Indies and Ireland
- SA will play 2 Tests, 5 T20Is in WI from June 10 and then face Ireland in 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is from July 11
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers will not be coming out of retirement for the T20 World Cup later this year, the country's cricket board confirmed on Tuesday as it named the national squads for their upcoming tours of West Indies and Ireland.
There were reports doing the rounds that de Villiers might make a comeback to international cricket for the showpiece event in India after head coach and former teammate Mark Boucher said he would "hold talks" with the superstar player.
But Cricket South Africa made it clear that de Villiers's retirement "will remain final". The 37-year-old had taken the entire world by surprise when he decided stepped away from international cricket in May 2018.
"Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final,” read a release from CSA.
The board made the news public after announcing the South African ODI, T20I and Test squads for their upcoming tours in June and July.
Prenelan Subrayen, right-arm off-spinner, has got a maiden international call-up after being included in Dean Elgar's Test squad while right-arm pacer Lizaad Williams has also been drafted in their red-ball team for the first time.
Test and T20I squads to @windiescricket
1 Maiden #Proteas call up for Prenelan Subrayen
1 Maiden Test nod for Lizaad Williams
Your thoughts on both Test and T20 squads?#WIvSA #ThatsOurGame pic.twitter.com/k08HJQJeUr — Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 18, 2021
SA will face the Windies in a series of 2 Tests and 5 T20Is from June 10 to July 3. It will be the South Africa’s first bilateral tour to the Caribbean since 2010, followed by a tri-series in 2016 that also featured Australia.
Their West Indies tour, which had to be rescheduled from 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be played in St. Lucia at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground and Grenada at the National Cricket Stadium.
SA will then travel to Ireland to play a series of 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in Dublin and Belfast from July 11.
Tour squad to @cricketireland
20 players
3 ODIs
3 T20Is#IREvSA #ThatsOurGame pic.twitter.com/xo2cSUB73L — Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 18, 2021
"The team has been in a rebuilding phase for a while now but we are satisfied that the return on investment is going to show itself sooner rather than later. We have to trust the process that has been put in place and support our team while they find themselves and their way," convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said in a statement.