AB de Villiers has announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on Friday (November 19). This ends his association with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, which lasted for 10 seasons since joining the team in 2011.
De Villiers ends his career with 4491 runs in 156 matches for RCB in the IPL, finishing as the second highest run-getter for the team behind Virat Kohli. De Villiers, who represented Delhi Daredevils before joining RCB, has finished his IPL career as the sixth highest run-getter with 5162 runs in 184 matches, with a best of 133* against Mumbai Indians in 2015.
De Villiers, who quit international cricket in 2018,was willing to come out of retirement and play for South Africa in the 2019 World Cup but that did not materialise. Earlier this year, the veteran batter had also expressed his desire to play in the T20 World Cup, which was supposed to be held in India but later moved to the UAE and Oman. “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,” he had said. But his international comeback did not happen.
Apart from his international T20 appearances and playing for RCB and Delhi in the IPL, De Villiers has also represented Barbados Tridents, Brisbane Heat, Lahore Qalandars, Middlesex, Rangpur Riders, South Africans, Titans and Tshwane Spartans in T20 cricket. He has ended his T20 career with a total of 9424 runs in 340 matches, with 59 fifties and 4 hundreds. De Villiers’s first-class career lasted for 141 matches in which he scored 10689 runs while he amassed 11123 runs in 263 List A games.
“I have had a long and fruitful time playing for RCB. Eleven years have just whizzed by and leaving the boys is extremely bittersweet. Of course, 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,” said De Villiers in a statement.
“I would like to thank the RCB management, my friend Virat Kohli, teammates, coaches, support staff, fans, and the entire RCB family for showing faith and supporting me all through these years. It has been a memorable journey with RCB. Have so many memories on the personal front to cherish for the lifetime. RCB will always be very close to me and my family and will continue to support this amazing team. I am a RCBian forever.”
