'I Wish I Could Bat With You' - AB de Villiers On Hashim Amla’s Retirement

The right-handed batter retired as one of the greats of the game, having scored 57 first-class hundreds and accumulating over 18,000 runs in international cricket.

Hashim Amla announces retirement.

Source : Getty

On Wednesday, South African cricketer Hashim Amla declared retirement from all forms of cricket. Post his retirement, legendary batsman AB de Villiers came up with a heartwarming note for his former batting partner.

“Hashim Amla.. where do I start?! Not easy. Might take me a few days, weeks, months, years,” wrote de Villiers on Twitter.

Hashim Amla.. where do I start?! Not easy. Might take me a few days, weeks, months, years.

I can literally write a book about you.

Humaam, thank you for always being there for me. You’ve always been a brother who made me feel safe in so many ways.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 18, 2023

“I can literally write a book about you.”

“Humaam, thank you for always being there for me. You’ve always been a brother who made me feel safe in so many ways", he tweeted.

"Your journey wasn’t easy. “The guy with the weird technique”. “He’ll never last”. “He’ll never be consistent”.

Your journey wasn’t easy. “The guy with the weird technique”. “He’ll never last”. “He’ll never be consistent”.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 18, 2023

But then, in your own very unique way, you just walked out there, time and time again and just batted, like only you can. Calm, composed, consistent, gutsy, skilful and humble, always for the team, for your country. You inspired me in a way I can’t explain.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 18, 2023

"But then, in your own very unique way, you just walked out there, time and time again and just batted, like only you can. Calm, composed, consistent, gutsy, skillful, and humble, always for the team, for your country. You inspired me in a way I can’t explain", he added.

So, today, I salute you my friend. You served the game to perfection! We can all learn from that. I did

I wish I could bat with you one more time.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) January 18, 2023

"So, today, I salute you my friend. You served the game to perfection! We can all learn from that. I did I wish I could bat with you one more time", de Villiers concluded.

Earlier, his retirement same was confirmed by the official Twitter handle of the Surrey Surrey County Cricket Club on Wednesday. Even though Amla had hung up his boots in international cricket in 2019, he was active in the county circuit with Surrey.

Amla played a crucial role in Surrey winning the County Championship in 2022. The right-handed batter retired as one of the greats of the game, having scored 57 first-class hundreds and accumulating over 18,000 runs in international cricket.

"Hashim Amla announces retirement from all forms of cricket  The legendary South African batter has declared his playing career over. From everyone at Surrey, thank you for everything Hash," Surrey's tweet read.