AB de Villiers to not come out of retirement for T20 WC, confirms CSA

After months of speculations over his comeback from retirement, Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Tuesday confirmed that AB de Villiers has decided that his retirement decision remains final once and for all. De Villiers himself, and South Africa head coach Mark Boucher have in the past spoken about the chances of the star batsman coming out of retirement and represent the Proteas again.

However, De Villiers, who quit international cricket in 2018, has decided to not make his comeback for the national team. Cricket South Africa recently had a discussion with De Villiers over the chances of him making a comeback for the national side. In a statement post the discussion, CSA confirmed that De Villiers will remain retired.

"Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final," CSA said in a statement as per ESPNcricinfo.

De Villiers, who was last seen in action during the now-suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, had said he was open to making a comeback for South Africa in international cricket. The veteran batsman said he was yet to hold talks with head coach Boucher but the discussions were in progress.

"I haven't had a chat with Boucher yet. But we are lined up to have a chat somewhere during the IPL. But yes, we have been talking about it. He asked me last year if I would be interested. I said 'absolutely'," De Villiers had said on April 18 while talking to the press.

He was in fine form for Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the tournament and played some brilliant knocks to help his team get off to a good start in the season.

The 37-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018 but has since been in talks for a comeback a few times, including the 2019 ICC World Cup in England.