AB de Villiers won't walk straight back into South Africa setup, clarifies Enoch Nkwe
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South Africa assistant coach Enoch Nkwe has made it clear that it would not be as simple as walking straight back into the setup for AB de Villiers, if at all he makes a return. On Tuesday, de Villiers indicated that he would love to return to the international setup ahead of the WT20 in October.
De Villiers, one of the most beloved cricketers around the world, had everybody stunned when, in May 2018, he announced his retirement from the international stage. Since then, he has pursued a career as a T20 franchise specialist with a lot of success. However, the 35-year-old has had everybody on the edge of their seats after he indicated his desire to return to the South African dressing room on the sidelines of the Big Bash League in Australia. But Nkwe, who is part of the new coaching set up in the Proteas side, has said that de Villiers, too, will have to go through a process before making it into the squad for the showdown later this year.
"It's not just going to be as simple as that. From my experience of the last couple of weeks with how [head coach Mark Boucher] works, he really believes in processes - you've got to earn it. It's not just walking into the team," Nkwe said, reported Cricbuzz.
Reports had surfaced earlier last year that de Villiers had made a tentative offer to return for the one-day World Cup in England. This time, however, it seems that the prospect of having his experienced presence in the squad back has been better received. ABD
"He has been involved in the [Mzansi Super League] and I'm sure that if he shows interest, he will be involved in some of the series that we will be playing. We keep seeing him fully committed to these types of leagues, which shows that if we need experience like that we could actually call him up. I am sure that he would be someone who would love to do it for South Africa," Nkwe added.
