"There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved in Argentine football, but I prefer to help from within and not criticize from the outside,” said Messi after he came out of retirement. Guess who echoed on the same thought and certainly is on the verge of coming back from retirement, Abraham Benjamin de Villiers. Last year just months before the World Cup, specifically in the Indian Premier League, the premier batsman kept the door open for a potential return. A potential return, which has seen turns, and plenty of them. First, it was Francois du Plessis, who had a conversation with his friend and ex team-mate that time, ABD. 

Season two, same premise, same characters, new twist. "When you go to the World Cup, you want your best players playing for you. If I feel he is one of your best players, why wouldn't I want to have a conversation with him?” was the first thing Mark Boucher uttered when he was given the top-job. Soon, the solo efforts from Boucher multiplied into a duo, the trio with the appointment of Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt and more importantly Graeme Smith. Boucher became the Nick Fury for the South African edition of the Avengers, assembling the best to stop them from getting destroyed. Smith, Kallis, pretty much the original members of the Avengers’ unit came to rescue, alongside the long-time missing Langeveldt. Just like in the movie, the main guy, who can turn into a beast was busy in Australia during January and India during April and May. 

Well, he could have played the Big Bash whenever he wanted prior to this edition but did he? Maybe, we are reading too much into the line, but this is cricket, nothing happens out of the blue here. Just months before the World Cup, no experienced pro would venture out in Australia’s only premier T20 competition after nudging offers every year. All of this happened in the jam-packed month sandwiched between the old year and the new year for the Proteas. One thing was constant, drama, excitement and plenty of controversy. 

While the South African side of negotiations was pretty much doing the rounds, de Villiers slowly marked his return to the Australian soil scoring a 32-ball 40 far from the hush-push of Australia’s series against India and Ben Stokes’ continued heroics against South Africa. He pushed himself to the brim of fitness, running hard in the field, laying a hand or two on the screaming delivery and plucking a few catches like apples from a tree. Well, his days away from the limelight, or you could say his day away from being the protagonist ended.

“I’ve been chatting with Mark Boucher, Smithy and some of the guys involved so hopefully it all works out. We’ve had a few good discussions about the possible way forward. I’m going to have to score some runs obviously,” he added. If he does return in the South African colours, it would be a glorious return, if he doesn’t it will just be another publicity stunt that he did in the knick of time. 

Despite all of this, a glimmer of hope suddenly sprung in front of the Proteas’ fans. And, by hope, you always utter Stephen King’s famous, “Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”