South Africa left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, on Wednesday hinted on AB de Villiers‘ comeback to International cricket, saying the Royal Challengers Bangalore star batsman is a world-class cricketer and a player of his stature is hard to ignore.
Earlier this month, the explosive batsman had also reiterated that he is open to coming out of retirement and playing for South Africa in the lead up to the T20 World Cup if there is space for him in the senior national team.
“AB is a world-class player and he can walk into any team and that’s how good he is, it doesn’t matter whether it’s England or Australia or South Africa. I don’t know what AB’s situation is, it all depends on how he feels and how the coach feels and the selectors too. But, let’s be honest, a player like that is hard to ignore,” Tabraiz Shamsi told Cricket Pakistan.
When AB de Villiers Hinted At His International Comeback For South Africa
The 37-year-old bid farewell to international cricket in 2018 but remains one of the world’s most explosive T20 stroke makers. He showed a glimpse of such in one of the matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, slamming an unbeaten 76 off just 34 balls for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
The destructive knock from the former Proteas skipper helped RCB register a clinical win. Post the game, De Villiers confirmed that he would be holding discussions with his former teammate and current national head coach of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Mark Boucher regarding his comeback in the international arena.
“I haven’t had a discussion with Bouchy (Mark Boucher) yet. We are lined up to have a chat somewhere during the IPL, but yes, we have been talking about it,” said De Villiers as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“Last year, he asked me if I would be interested. And I said, ‘absolutely’. And come the end of the IPL, we will have a look at where we are regarding my form and my fitness. Also, the situation with his team – he’s got to look at his guys who have been performing well over the last while,” added the Pretoria lad.
Overall, former South Africa captain accumulated 207 runs from seven IPL 2021 matches while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore including three half-centuries.
De Villiers said that he is waiting for Boucher’s words after the end of the fourteenth season of the cash-rich league and then plan his return.
“If there’s no space for me, so be it. If I can slot in there, it will be fantastic if all those things fall in place. Waiting for Bouchy towards the end of the IPL, and we will then plan accordingly,” De Villiers added further.
