“I Have A Role To Play In South Africa Cricket And Also With RCB In IPL”: AB De Villiers

Despite being unsure about his immediate future, AB de Villiers feels he has a role to play in South Africa cricket, as well as with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The former South Africa skipper, who announced his retirement from all formats in November 2021, featured in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20s for the Proteas. He was also a part of the IPL franchise RCB for more than a decade, having joined the team ahead of the 2011 season.

The 37-year-old said that he intends to help out in a coaching capacity or mentoring role.

“I still believe that I have a role to play in SA cricket and also over there in the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). I have no idea what will come next but I will take it one day at a time and see. I have been looking after and mentoring some youngsters with potential and ability for the last few years,” he told TimesLive.com.za.

Speaking on his retirement from all formats of the game, De Villiers said that despite performing well in different leagues across the world, he decided to move on because he didn’t get the same enjoyment as he used to get before.

“I found myself on the park where scoring runs and doing well for the team didn’t really match with everything that goes with it anymore and that’s where the balance started leading towards hanging my gloves up.

“I have never been the guy who is going to push every single bit of energy of my ability and my cricketing skill, I have always played for the enjoyment of the game. And the minute that sort of started going down, I knew it was time for me to move on,” he added.

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De Villiers bid adieu to the sport after scoring 20,017 international runs.

He also piled plenty of runs during his stint with RCB, where he had also formed a deadly partnership with Virat Kohli.