Yes, it is official now. The batsman who can hit any bowler to any part of the ground he so desires has officially retired. We are talking about the one and only Mr. 360. Not for nothing is he called that. Some of the shots that he played which includes the scoop over the keeper or the shot over fine leg from well outside off, are shots that regular batsmen can only dream about. He was a special player. South Africa found it very difficult to replace him after so many years and Royal Challengers Bangalore might face the same. This is my tribute to the one and only Mr 360. A B de Villiers.
In the words of the man himself
“It has been an incredible journey, but I have decided to retire from all cricket,” de Villiers announced on Twitter. “Ever since the back yard matches with my older brothers, I have played the game with pure enjoyment and unbridled enthusiasm. Now, at the age of 37, that flame no longer burns so brightly.”
“I have had a long and fruitful time playing for RCB,” he said in a statement. “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.
These were the words of de Villiers. The flame no longer burns. Every sportsperson goes through this phase which will eventually signal to them to stop. De Villers is no different. He may have been a batsman whom the bowlers feared. He may have been the batsman whom South Africa repeatedly turned to either to arrest a slide or increase the tempo exponentially. Even he cannot escape father-time and will have to stop at some point in his career. It was on the 21st of November 2021.
De Villiers had a cavalier approach to batting
The cricketing world will miss a player of his class. He retired from South African cricket sometime ago but atleast the fans were able to watch him bat in various leagues around the world. That is no longer possible. It has been a pleasure to watch de Villiers tear bowling attacks apart. After Vivian Richards, it was de Villiers who never really was bothered by any bowler. He played pace the same nonchalant way he played spin. Big bustling fast bowlers to the guile of spinners, no one had an answer to AB when he was in the mood.
De Villiers played the game unselfishly. He relinquished the South African captaincy when he saw Faf proved himself quite competent in that capacity and never captained South Africa again. The last 3 years were punctuated with questions over de Villiers will make himself available to play for South Africa again. Just before the 2019 ODI World Cup, de Villiers contacted Faf Plessis for a possible recall but the selectors decided against the recall and decided to go with the players who were already part of the system. Suffice to say South Africa were not able to prevail in that tournament.
Tributes from around the world
As expected, current and former players have paid tribute to one of the legends of the game.
“Not many people have had the impact on the game like AB did. It was indeed a pleasure to watch him play from the other side. Happy retirement AB, best wishes to and your family @ABdeVilliers17,” said Rohit in his tweet.
Virat Kohli tweeted, “To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I’ve met, you can be very proud of what you’ve done and what you’ve given to RCB my brother. Our bond is beyond the game and will always be.”
Jos Buttler, “What a player! I was one of so many who would turn on the tv just to watch you bat. Enjoy retirement, what a career..”
Great entertainer for the crowd
Wherever de Villiers plays, the crowd is abuzz with anticipation. The admiration and respect that he commanded from even the home supporters was something to be seen to be believed. The walk to the wicket and the stadium resonates with “AB…Ab…AB…”. It will leave goosebumps. Some years ago, the Indian crowd at Mumbai were rooting for de Villiers over the home team because he absolutely traumatised the Indian bowlers. He scored at a massive strike rate of 195 in one of the ODI. The Indian crowd cheering for AB was something that amused opener Rohit Sharma that day.
Virat Kohli, in one of his interviews, admitted that Rohit Sharma being a Mumbaikar himself, was stunned by the crowd’s support for an opposition batsman. Batting is only one part of what de Villiers can accomplish on the field. His fielding be it at slips or in the outfield is a treat to watch. Some of the catches that he took will leave even Jonty Rhodes smiling.
Unfulfilled potential earlier on
For a very long time, de Villiers never really played to his potential. He had an excellent second season in international cricket but he again regressed for the subsequent years. A pep talk with Graeme Smith, the then South African captain rejuvenated de Villiers. He gave up wicket keeping and became a pure batsman. From then on, the world was his oyster. He did not look back at all and blossomed into the complete batsman the rest of the world have seen. From 2008 onwards for another 8 years he had such a stellar run with the bat that it was always de Villiers first and the rest of the batsmen when it comes to who is best batsman in the world.
How will de Villiers reflect upon himself?
De Villiers himself will not consider his career to be complete. The fact that he was never part of a World Cup, be it T20 or ODI or Test winning team will rankle for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, he can console himself bey reminding that he was part of a South African team that was the absolute best for about 7 years. He will be proud that he was part of a South African team that won 3 consecutive series in Australia. A feat that no other team have come close to repeating. He will also feel proud that he was part of a South African team that won 2 consecutive series in England. A world trophy would have glittered his stellar career but it wasn’t to be.
Other blogs related to South African cricket can be read here, here and here.