AB de Villiers calls time on South Africa career saying he is ‘tired’ and that it must be ‘everything or nothing’
Former Proteas captain sits fourth and second respectively on South Africa's all-time list of top run-scorers in Tests (8,765) and ODIs (9,577)
SUPERSTAR batsman AB de Villiers has retired from international cricket with immediate effect.
The South African made his announcement via video on social media, insisting he is “tired” and had “run out of gas.”
De Villiers, 34, has just produced a string of dazzling performance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
He is expected to continue in the IPL, where he earns seven times more in less than two months than he does in a whole year with the Proteas.
De Villiers said: “I have thought long and hard about this and I’d like to retire while still playing decent cricket. It would not be right to pick and choose when I play for South Africa.
“It’s not about earning more somewhere else, it’s about running out of gas and feeling it is the right time to move on.”
De Villiers is one of cricket’s all-time great batsmen with his incredible array of orthodox and unorthodox shots and ability to score 360 degrees around the wicket.
The cricketer made his Proteas bow in December 2004 and went on to establish himself as one of their greatest ever batsmen over the course of 114 Tests, 228 one-day and 78 Twenty20 internationals.
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De Villiers sits fourth and second respectively on South Africa's all-time list of top run-scorers in Tests (8,765) and ODIs (9,577), finishing with an average of more than 50 across both formats.
He was a pivotal presence in South Africa's middle order during their first Test series win over Australia on home soil since 1970 earlier this year, but it proved to be his international swansong.