"It was just a conversation, a phone call the night before the team got announced," the official website of the cricket world cup quoted du Plessis as saying. "It was just a 'this is what I'm feeling' (phone call).
"I said to him, 'I think it is too late but I will check in with the coach and the selectors the next morning'. When I spoke to the coach and the selectors, they all agreed that it was way, way too late to change the team on 99.99."
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, de Villiers had offered to come out of retirement for the ongoing World Cup, but it was turned down by Cricket South Africa. The offer was made by de Villiers in May.
The revelation came at a time after South Africa lost their first three matches of the ongoing showpiece event.
When asked whether the furore had impacted his side negatively, the Proteas skipper said, "I think a little bit of both. We do feel like the news came in and like went through the team. It didn't have a huge impact.
"There was just a discussion on clarity and on making sure everyone knows what's going on and then it was moving on. The team was happy to get on with business. But it is stuff like that generally you feel like it can make you, give you direction in your team and give you purpose to focus on what lies ahead," he added.
South Africa’s chances of making into the top four got much narrower after their clash against West Indies got abandoned due to heavy rains in Southampton on Monday. As a result, both the sides take one point apiece from the washout.