Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers had said on Tuesday that he would love to come out of his international retirement to make a comeback in the national team for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year.
After de Villiers’ optimistic comments, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has also echoed the same and said that he would be keen to have de Villiers back into the Proteas squad.
“We spoke about it, and I was very keen to have him back. That was even before the new coaching staff was on board,” du Plessis was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Though, nothing is confirmed abut when de Villiers will return but he will have to appear in few out of the 11 Twenty-20 Internationals (T20Is) that South Africa will play before the World Cup in October and November.
“In an ideal world we would like to try and make sure that we can play our best 11, 12, 13 players for a few games or series together leading up to the T20 World Cup,” du Plessis said.
Speaking to Cricket Australia’s official website after making his Big Bash League (BBL) debut with Brisbane Heat on Tuesday, de Villiers had said that how he performs in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) will be important in deciding the fate of his international comeback.
“It’s a long way away still, and plenty can happen there’s the IPL coming up, I’ve still got to be in form at that time. So I’m thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping that everything will work out,” de Villiers said.
However, the 35-year-old admitted that he should be realistic about his expectations and goals.
“It’s not a guarantee, once again. I don’t want to disappoint myself or other people, so for now I’m just going to try and keep a low profile, try and play the best possible cricket that I can and then see what happens towards the end of the year,” he said.