The South Africa cricket team have seemingly dug their grave and laid in it as well. As it turns out, talismanic batsman, AB de Villiers is sorely missed by the Proteas. The 35-year old announced his retirement from international cricket back in 2018. Now, ‘Mr. 360 [https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/ab-de-villiers/]’ seems like he is regretting his decision and wanted to come back for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. According to Cricket South Africa [https://cricket.co.za/wc/] National Selection Panel convenor, Linda Zondi, their hands were tied and had to reject his proposal to come out of retirement. A statement issued by CSA read, “I pleaded with AB de Villiers not to retire in 2018. Although there was a perception that he was picking and choosing when to play – which was not true- I did give him the option to plan and monitor his season to get him to the World Cup fresh and in a good space. We made it clear that he would have to play during the home tours against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to be considered for selection, instead, he signed to play in the Pakistan and Bangladesh Premier Leagues respectively. He turned down the offer and said he was at peace with his decision to retire. AB de Villiers [http://www.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/AB-de-Villiers-2.jpg]CricTracker “For Faf du Plessis and Ottis Gibson to share AB’s desire to be included in the squad on the day we announced our World Cup squad on April 18th was a shock to all of us. AB left a big vacuum when he retired, we had a year to find players at franchise level to fill the gap. We had players who put in the hard work, who put up their hands and deserved to be given the opportunity to go to the World Cup. The decision was based on principle; we had to be fair to the team, the selection panel, our franchise system and players. “At no point in the year that he had retired did he make himself available for selection. It was no option when I received the news on the day of the squad announcement, our squad was finalised and confirmed. AB is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, but above all else, we have to stay true to our morals and principles, there is no regret in the decision.”. Now, AB de Villiers has urged fans to forget about his saga and focus on supporting the Proteas in their World Cup 2019 campaign. [http://www.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ab-de-villiers-1432440293.jpg]AB de Villiers 

The South Africa team is sorely missing AB de Villiers after he announced his
retirement from international duty, last year

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AB de Villiers Biography

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, also known as Mr 360, what can be said about him? AB de Villiers has grown to become one of the world's best batsmen. When in form, de Villiers is deadly with a capital D.

The South African possesses the knack of tearing into any bowling attack. AB de Villiers has the capability of giving bowlers nightmares for days on end. At a young age, every selector had their eyes trained on him alone. He was soon rewarded with a berth among the Proteas at the age of 20 in 2004.

In his Test debut at home against England, he almost single-handedly rescued South Africa from the jaws of defeat. In the same series, he smashed his maiden Test century. With that, the legend of AB de Villiers was born.

However, a year later, like most players, a slump in his form plagued him. But he combatted that with an astounding 217 against India. In the process AB de Villiers set a record as the first South African to smash a double ton against India.

Ab de Villiers possesses a mainstream attacking game, he complements that with a back-and-across trigger movement and a late-block in his defensive arsenal. Aside from that, he tends to play in accordance with the situation and conditions as well.

However, he is not invincible, if an elbow surgery in 2016 is any proof. As a result, he made an appearance in only one Test series all year. Following his recovery, AB de Villiers returned to the limited-overs formats, but avoided Test cricket to 'lighten his workload'.

<img class="size-full wp-image-152513 aligncenter" src="http://www.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2019-04-03-at-12.05.12-AM.png" alt="AB de Villiers" width="465" height="349" />

IPL Career

With regard to the IPL AB de Villiers is a fan favourite in any city. De Villiers has been in the IPL right from its inception in 2008. During that time, he was with the Delhi Daredevils.

But he truly announced himself to the world when he joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. He still delivered handsomely for Delhi, courtesy a 105 against the Chennai Super Kings.

He was let go by Delhi in the wake of a poor 2010 season and RCB pounced immediately. They nabbed him for a whopping 1.1 million dollars and they were going to make Delhi regret their decision to drop him.

Since then, AB de Villiers has proven his money's worth for Bangalore. The big-hitting South African formed a dangerous triumvirate with skipper, Virat Kohli and Jamaican star, Chris Gayle. He ended up as the leading run-getter for RCB for three seasons.

IPL 2019 Expectations

Now, AB de Villiers has stuck around with the Royal Challengers for yet another season. The team are desperate for a maiden IPL triumph inspite of boasting the strongest batting line-up ever. He has achieved a high score of an unbeaten 133* back in 2015 at a strike rate of 175.08.

AB De Villiers

AB de Villiers Biography Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, also known as Mr 360, what can be said about him? AB de Villiers has grown to become one of the world&#8217;s best batsmen. When in form, de Villiers is deadly with a capital D. The South African possesses the knack of tearing into any bowling attack. AB de Villiers has the capability of giving bowlers nightmares for days on end. At a young age, every selector had their eyes trained on him alone. He was soon rewarded with a berth among the Proteas at the age of 20 in 2004. In his Test debut at home against England, he almost single-handedly rescued South Africa from the jaws of defeat. In the same series, he smashed his maiden Test century. With that, the legend of AB de Villiers was born. However, a year later, like most players, a slump in his form plagued him. But he combatted that with an astounding 217 against India. In the process AB de Villiers set a record as the first South African to smash a double ton against India. Ab de Villiers possesses a mainstream attacking game, he complements that with a back-and-across trigger movement and a late-block in his defensive arsenal. Aside from that, he tends to play in accordance with the situation and conditions as well. However, he is not invincible, if an elbow surgery in 2016 is any proof. As a result, he made an appearance in only one Test series all year. Following his recovery, AB de Villiers returned to the limited-overs formats, but avoided Test cricket to &#8216;lighten his workload&#8217;. IPL Career With regard to the IPL AB de Villiers is a fan favourite in any city. De Villiers has been in the IPL right from its inception in 2008. During that time, he was with the Delhi Daredevils. But he truly announced himself to the world when he joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. He still delivered handsomely for Delhi, courtesy a 105 against the Chennai Super Kings. He was let go by Delhi in the wake of a poor 2010 season and RCB pounced immediately. They nabbed him for a whopping 1.1 million dollars and they were going to make Delhi regret their decision to drop him. Since then, AB de Villiers has proven his money&#8217;s worth for Bangalore. The big-hitting South African formed a dangerous triumvirate with skipper, Virat Kohli and Jamaican star, Chris Gayle. He ended up as the leading run-getter for RCB for three seasons. IPL 2019 Expectations Now, AB de Villiers has stuck around with the Royal Challengers for yet another season. The team are desperate for a maiden IPL triumph inspite of boasting the strongest batting line-up ever. He has achieved a high score of an unbeaten 133* back in 2015 at a strike rate of 175.08.