He Was 'Concerned About Coming In Ahead Of Other Players': Boucher Explains AB de Villiers Saga

After speculations about AB De Villiers' return to International cricket, Cricket South Africa (CSA) had announced that the batsman won't be part of the South Africa squad in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

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South Africa: Fans of AB de Villiers around the world were not happy after hearing that the batsman will NOT come out of retirement to play for South Africa in the upcoming ICC T20 Cricket World Cup. Just a day after the announcement by the South Africa cricket board, its coach Mark Boucher tried to make sense of the decision. He said that AB was "concerned about coming in ahead" of other players who are already in the SA team.

After speculations about AB De Villiers' return to International cricket, Cricket South Africa (CSA) had announced that the batsman won't be part of the South Africa squad in the upcoming T20 World Cup. De Villiers took retirement from international cricket in 2018 and doesn't look like getting back in the international squad any time soon.  

"AB has his reasons, which I respect. Unfortunately, he’s no longer in the mix. I say unfortunately because I think we all agree that he’s still one of the best – if not the best – T20 players in world cricket," Mark Boucher told The Citizen. "But he alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’t think it sat well with him, which I understand."

"As a coach, I needed to try and get our best players, for the team and the environment. AB is an energy booster in any environment, but I respect his reasoning. It was worth a go, but now let’s move forward," Boucher explained. 

De Villiers was also part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL. He scored 207 runs in seven IPL matches this season at an average of 51.75 which included two half-centuries. He took retirement from international cricket in 2018. 

The recent form of the South African team hasn't been really good. They lost ODI and T20I series against Pakistan.