AB de Villiers retires

Didn't see that coming.

http://ewn.co.za/2018/05/23/ab-de-villiers-retires-from-international-cricket

Just noticed it in our local press. He says he doesn't want to play overseas and will probably play for his domestic team next summer.

He says that he's jaded - guess that's what the IPL has done for cricket.

He did go out on an international high though.

Still people are saying why, not why not?

He’ll be at Big Bash

Has he forgotten there’s a World Cup next summer? Maybe he just wants to avoid being part of the next quadrennial Yarpitulation

He’s been messing about, picking and choosing tours etc. the last few years, but still surprised he’s made this decision - if he’d given up one format it would have perhaps made sense. He’s been on the international treadmill for a long time though, I thought he was a bit younger than 34.

Wonderful player.

Retired from cricket but still likely to partipate in the IPL t-ball circus for a few years.

So IPL is good for supplementing players' incomes, but certainly plays a part in premature retirements.

I recall ABDV as a twenty-one year old when he first came to Australia. I remember him at the MCG chasing down every ball in the field and diving to save boundaries with all his might. He was athletic and a breath of fresh air. He just got better and more exciting with every tour to our shores.

He could be quite a useful player on his day.

vilkrang wrote:He could be quite a useful player on his day.

Never fulfilled his potential

Could have been a decent captain.

horace wrote:Could have been a decent captain.

Never. Great player, but not a captain.

I've only been to a handful of test matches but I was lucky enough to watch him bat. He really did seem a class above the rest, not just in the fact he scored a ton but the way he scored it.

Saw a feature on him once and he mentioned playing lots of sports at school and reckoned playing tennis helped him a lot and it was interesting seeing some of the more unorthodox shots in the shorter game being linked to this (could have done pretty well at tennis if he didn't choose cricket by the sound of it).

In all seriousness, absolutely brilliant athlete and the best batsman I've seen live.

A terrific player, no doubt, but Vilky you should go to more matches.

RIP to the Test career of a massive talent.

I’d say he was probably the most versatile batsman I’ve seen. Equally capable of smashing a 50-ball century in limited overs, and blocking out the final day of a Test for a draw. With so many pigeonholed, one-trick pony players in the modern era, he was a rare exception. As well as being a great fielder and capable keeper.