The Great Gamble
There was a time, not too long ago, when the mere mention of money was anathema in sports ~ professionals were allowed in Wimbledon for the first time in 1968, and in the Olympics only from 1988.
In a recent update, South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes has opined that they must do anything to win the T20 World Cup 2020. Rhodes also wants South Africa team to consider bringing in former international cricketer AB de Villiers back into the T20 squad for the coveted tournament later this year in Australia.
It is worth highlighting that the 36-year-old de Villiers has not played international cricket for nearly two years after announcing his retirement in May 2018. Notably, it was also revealed that he had made an offer to participate in the 50-overs World Cup last year but the offer couldn’t materialise.
Advertisement
“I’m a big fan of AB de Villiers. I’m just not sure of the precedent. If you want to win a T20 World Cup, you should do anything to win it,” Rhodes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Advertisement
“I suppose a lot of people watch how he performed at the IPL but just watching him in the Big Bash, he’s such a class player,” he added.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 will begin from 18 October and conclude on 15 November in Australia.
“I think it’s interesting because it’s a tough call. You want your best team to play, it’s also tough on the guys who then miss out. You know AB is a very special player so then do you set a precedent for a guy like AB de Villiers if he is not playing for South Africa, I mean why are you selecting him,” he said.
“You are not breaking any rules, you are setting a slight precedent and you are going to be upsetting a few players who are going to miss out. But a team without AB de Villiers or a team with AB de Villiers… I’d love to see that guy play,” Rhodes said.
“Although difficult to answer that because I’m not somebody who is missing out, I’m also not from the administration about setting this kind of precedent, so I don’t have to make that call,” he further said.
“It’ll just be great to see AB de Villiers play at a World Cup again for us,” he concluded.
Advertisement
