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- Proteas coach Mark Boucher has revealed that Villiers’ former AB star hitter will always be part of the selection discussion when he’s playing good cricket.
- De Villiers has been in the headlines about his possible return to the Proteas setup after retiring from international cricket in 2018.
- Boucher says he will have a conversation with De Villiers about his possible selection closer to the T20 World Cup next year.
Proteas trainer Mark Boucher believes the former star hitter Villiers AB will remain part of the discussion in terms of selection “when he is playing good cricket”.
De Villiers finished his illustrious Proteas career in 2018 after playing 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20s.
Reports emerged last year that De Villiers wanted to come out of retirement and play for the Proteas at the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England.
A comeback never materialized, but de Villiers continued to make headlines following his stellar T20 performances around the world.
Boucher admitted that De Villiers was in line for a possible selection before the national lockdown, but those discussions have been suspended.
“AB was in discussions before Covid, he is always in discussions when he’s playing good cricket, to be honest with you,” Boucher told reporters at a Zoom press conference on Thursday.
“Looking ahead, I haven’t talked to him at all, he’s been playing in the IPL. He also had a very good IPL.”
De Villiers had another stellar Indian Premier League campaign, scoring 454 He runs at an average of 45.40 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
READ | Mpitsang, Head of Selection for Proteas: ‘I respect AB’s decision to retire’
De Villiers has made it publicly clear that he would be willing to return to the national configuration.
However, the T20 World Cup has been rescheduled for October next year due to the coronavirus pandemic and there are doubts as to whether De Villiers will come out of retirement.
Boucher confirmed that he will contact De Villiers closer to the global masterpiece.
“We’ll look closer to the time at the World Cup, I’ll probably have a conversation with him and see where he is and that’s an open conversation that everyone will know as well. I never hid behind the fact that we have talked to him,” said Boucher .
If the Proteas require De Villiers’ services, Boucher sees no reason not to argue with the player.
“I still believe that he is one of the best players in the world and he showed it in the IPL. If it is a good value to carry the Proteas setup, then I keep what I said before that I want to have a conversation with him.”
Boucher is currently preparing his Proteas charges as they face England in three T20s and three ODIs behind closed doors.
The first T20 is scheduled to go live in Newlands next Friday (November 27).
