De Villiers steps down as South Africa ODI captain
AB De Villiers made it clear he is not retiring and will still be available to play all three formats of the game for his country.
On Wednesday, AB De Villiers announced, through a video posted on his Twitter account, his decision to step down as South Africa’s ODI captain.
Ending speculations about his retirement, the 33-year-old made it clear that he will continue playing for South Africa in all three formats of the game.
“Playing for South Africa is and will always be the greatest privilege of my life,” said De Villiers through the video message. “It has been an honour to lead the team for the past six years but it is now time for somebody else to take the ODI team forward and whoever is chosen as the new ODI captain will have my complete support.
“Following this recent break, I really do feel refreshed and revived. I want to get back on the field and I have ensured the selectors that I will be available for selection in all three formats of the game during the coming season.”
De Villiers captaincy
AB De Villiers captained South Africa in 103 matches with 59 wins and 39 losses. He took over the captaincy from Graeme Smith after the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
De Villiers led the Proteas to the to the World Cup semi-final in 2015, where they lost to New Zealand.
Aside from his role as a captain, De Villiers is a brilliant batsman. He holds the world records for the fastest 50 and 100 runs. In total, he has achieved 9319 runs from 222 ODIs, with 24 hundredths and 53 half centuries.
Faf to captain in all three formats?
After De Villiers announcement, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Faf Du Plessis, who already captains in both the T20 and Test formats, becomes the new South Africa’s ODI captain.
In his video message, De Villiers praised Faf’s role as a T20 and Test captain, suggesting that he is the best option to occupy the now vacant role.
Having Du Plessis as leading the Proteas in all three formats will help bring stability to the team.
Proteas’ next assignments are against Bangladesh and India Bangladesh will be touring South Africa in late September, while the dates for India’s visit are yet to be confirmed.