AB de Villiers soap opera continues as he rules himself out of SA's tour of England

18 January 2017 - 17:43 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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The AB de Villiers soap opera took yet another turn on Wednesday when he ruled himself out of SA's tour of England in May and Bangladesh's incoming visit later in the year.

Without making a firm commitment about his return‚ De Villiers said he was hoping to return to the Test arena against India and Australia‚ who are expected in South Africa at the end of the year and early next year respectively.

“I made myself unavailable for the New Zealand series and to add to that also the England and the Bangladesh series‚" he said.

"I am hoping to make a comeback with the Titans towards the end of the year in preparation for the series towards the end of the year against India‚ which will be followed by Australia.

"That’s the plan but I am not committing anything just yet.”

  • AB de Villiers rules himself out of SA's test series in New Zealand in MarchAB de Villiers has ruled himself out of South Africa's test series in New Zealand in March. 

De Villiers‚ who is close to signing a bat sponsorship deal with an Indian tyre company believed to be around R28 million‚ added that the decisions to miss a further two series was not an easy one.

“It’s was not an easy decision for sure‚ I am just not ready and that is the best way I can put it.

"My priorities have changed over the years‚ I have played for over 12 odd years‚ family has changed‚ my roles in the team have changed over the years and there are a lot of things that have played a role in this decision.

"I wouldn’t like to think it’s the end.

"I would like to make a comeback and finish what I have started and hopefully‚ somehow‚ have a say in us reclaiming the number one spot on the rankings which we deserve‚ considering the way we have played over the last three months. It is definitely not the end of the story.

  • Who are the new guys in the SA T20 team?Several Proteas debutants will come under scrutiny in the coming T20 series between South Africa and Sri Lanka‚ which starts in Centurion on Friday. 

“A decision to miss the England series wasn’t easy and there is no disrespect to New Zealand and Bangladesh who have improved over a last while.

"My decision has absolutely nothing to do with disrespecting them‚ I need more time to be ready for the end of the year tour against India and Australia and we will see where we go from there.”

De Villiers also confirmed that he will continue to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but not other T20 league around the world.

  • CSA boss Lorgat denies AB de Villiers is cherry-picking formats and opponentsCricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat says AB de Villiers is not cherry-picking formats and opponents but merely saving himself for what will be an excruciatingly long 2017. 

“I feel IPL has become part of the ICC schedule and there are a lot of reasons why most of us won’t say no to it.

"I am definitely not committing to anything else at the moment but you won’t see me at the Big Bash or any other T20 tournament around the world except playing for South Africa and the IPL.

"We are getting pulled out of IPL early so to start preparations for the Champions Trophy in England and Wales in June but dates have not been confirmed yet‚” he added.

- TMG Digital

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