ICC World Cup 2019 | AB de Villiers should have spoken up a bit earlier, says Shaun Pollock

After initial reports by Cricinfo had suggested that AB de Villiers had offered to come out of retirement to participate in the World Cup in England, the CSA on Thursday officially confirmed it as true, before stating the reasons for excluding him from the squad. Shaun Pollock agreed with the board, saying that a last minute addition to the team would have messed up the team’s plans that they had been working on for quite some time now.

“If it did come just as the (World Cup) team was about to be announced, that’s quite disruptive from a team perspective. If we do find out he was available, maybe he should have spoken up a little earlier. That would have been good,” quoted Pollock.

The South African chief selector Linda Zondi had said in his statement that even though he pleaded the batsman to stay, de Villiers instead had chosen to quit the national team and participate in T20 leagues around the globe. Hence, when captain Faf du Plessis and coach Ottis Gibson had suggested him to be included in the squad right before it was supposed to be announced.

“We had players who put in the hard work, who put up their hands and deserved to be given the opportunity to go to the World Cup. The decision was based on principle; we had to be fair to the team, the selection panel, our franchise system and players,” he had remarked.

However, none of it suggests that the team couldn’t have done with his services, considering he has been in fine form as he finished the IPL with an average of 44.2, apart from the fact that he is one of the greatest Proteas batsmen to have ever played the game.

“You always cherish the performances he’s produced. When you see bad batting from South Africa, you think ‘wouldn’t it be nice to be able to call on him. But I can understand why the decision was made,” Pollock concluded.

After going through a record three-match winless streak to begin the World Cup, the Proteas face West Indies on Monday in a match they must win to have any chances of progressing.