A modern-era legend, AB de Villiers has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The former South African captain announced on Friday via Twitter, drawing the curtain on a remarkably glorious career of 17 years. He played 420 international matches, which comprised 114 tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20Is. He had scored over 20,000 runs across all formats.
He had retired from international cricket in May 2018 but continued to showcase his brilliance worldwide by partaking in T20 leagues. Recently he was seen with RCB in IPL, and even the legend agreed that he did not quite live up to the billing. Especially in the second phase of the tournament.
It has been an incredible journey, but I have decided to retire from all cricket.
Ever since the back yard matches with my older brothers, I have played the game with pure enjoyment and unbridled enthusiasm. Now, at the age of 37, that flame no longer burns so brightly. pic.twitter.com/W1Z41wFeli
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) November 19, 2021
Opening about his retirement, the player wrote on Twitter, “I have had a long and fruitful time playing for RCB. Even years just whizzed by arriving at this decision took a lot of time, but after a lot of contemplation, I’ve decided to hang up my boots and spend quality time with my family.” The Wicketkeeper-Batter also extended his thank to Virat Kohli and RCB teammates in particular for playing a part in his journey and said that he would remain an RCBian forever. In 14 seasons of IPL, AB de Villiers has scored 5162 runs, out of which 4491 have come in the 11 seasons he played for RCB. No wonder he holds the team so close to his heart.
AB de Villiers holds numerous ICC records; however, the most noticeable ones came in the same game against West Indies in the 2015 World Cup. In that match, de Villiers scored a 16 ball fifty, 31 ball Hundred, and 64 ball one-fifty to become the fastest to achieve milestones in One-Day International cricket. He was also nicknamed Mr. 360 as he could manoeuvre the ball all around the park at will.
