South African batsman AB de Villiers has made himself unavailable for selection for South Africa’s three-Test series against hosts New Zealand in March, but is adamant he is not retiring from the longest format of the game.
Just over a year ago, reports surfaced that De Villiers would like to manage his workload in Test cricket which he later confirmed to be true. The star Proteas batsman, however, did not take any time off as those comments would suggest. An elbow injury late last year, though, forced De Villiers to sit out the home Test series win over New Zealand and Sri Lanka and also the away Test series victory over Australia in November.
De Villiers has already handed over the Test captaincy to Faf du Plessis, and the 32-year-old’s latest comment suggest a focus on the shorter formats of the game.
“I’ve made (myself) unavailable for the tests in New Zealand,” de Villiers said on Tuesday. “I’m not there yet. I need a bit of time just to settle things in my head. For me the goal is the 2019 World Cup – I want to lift that trophy.”
“I’m not retiring out of any format, that’s for sure. I am not prepared to do that,” he told Radio 702.
“My main aim is to get to that 2019 World Cup and I am going to do everything possible to get there,” he said.
“It’s important to play the other formats but mentally and physically I need to be in a good space come the 2019 World Cup and that’s what I am aiming for.
“I am going to have to make certain choices. It’s not easy for me. I have always been the go-ahead guy, the team man, never want to miss a game for South Africa and I still do, but the schedules these days, it’s really tough to play all formats.” – African News Agency (ANA)
