Conversations ongoing to bring AB de Villiers back, confirms Faf du Plessis
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said talks have begun aimed at getting star batsman AB de Villiers back into international cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October next year. Du Plessis has also welcomed the announcements of Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher in interim positions.
Since his retirement after the 2018 IPL, de Villiers has become a specialist in the T20 format of the game, playing in nearly every major T20 league around the world. He hit a half-century in Monday’s Mzansi Super League final for Tshwane Spartans against du Plessis-led Paarl Rocks. The Spartans lost by eight wickets with de Villiers now moving to Australia for the upcoming Big Bash League, while du Plessis joins the national team to prepare for the home series against England.
Speaking after the victory in the final, du Plessis joined new South African head coach Mark Boucher in saying that de Villiers’ return would be welcomed with both hands.
"Those conversations have been happening two or three months ago. Obviously Test cricket is the most important thing right now but T20 cricket is a different beast," Du Plessis told AFP.
"It's not a lot of time away from home. Obviously with a full campaign you have to spend a lot of time on the road. The T20 World Cup is not too far away and there isn't a long list of T20 internationals over the season. Those conversations have taken place and they will take place before the next T20 international series starts,” he said.
Meanwhile, as South Africa try to repair their on-field form against England, quite a few changes have been made backstage. The Cricket South Africa (CSA) board crisis resulted in former captain Smith being appointed as the interim director of cricket and Boucher being made the head coach.
"It was the dark ages last week and there is a little light this week. It's very important. It will help the dressing room and even the support of the team. Everyone wants the team to do well, everyone wants to make sure we get the right people in the right positions. It's exciting. I'm very excited with the start of this new journey,” Du Plessis added.
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