South Africa slumped to a third straight defeat in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup on Wednesday when they were beaten by India, thanks to Rohit Sharma’s century. However, it was incidents off the field that were generating a greater buzz for the Proteas with news breaking that veteran batsman AB de Villiers had offered to come out of retirement and play at the World Cup but his wishes were rejected by the nation’s cricket board.

While the move by the board has been marred in controversy after South Africa’s middle-order struggled to perform admirably in de Villiers’ absence, not picking the 35-year-old was nevertheless the right decision by Cricket South Africa. This ensured that the selection protocols in place for decades were rightfully honoured.

De Villiers has been an incredible servant for South Africa over the past decade or so, captaining the side and also doubling up as an auxiliary wicket-keeper during that period. He has scored over 9,500 ODI runs through the years with a healthy average of just over 50. However, de Villiers decided to call it a day last May, much to the surprise of most of the cricketing world, claiming he was too fatigued. He felt this was the right opportunity for youngsters to take over the baton.

Since then, de Villiers has not played any domestic cricket in South Africa but has continued participating in franchise-based T20 tournaments all around the world, featuring in both the Pakistan Super League as well as the Indian T20 league. He has regularly been playing the shortest format of the game in club-based tournaments, with matches on alternate days which require players to be very fit and athletic.

However, de Villiers made no intention during those times to make a comeback to the national team, having told the South African selectors that “he was at peace with his decision to retire.” Therefore, it would be unfair if the committee would have considered de Villiers’ request on the eve of the selection.

The selectors had spent the entire year, since the 35-year-old’s retirement, searching for a replacement and giving opportunities to the likes of Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klassen and Reeza Hendricks in the middle-order. No wonder, these players did their country proud with a few match-winning performances since then. Therefore, it would be extremely unfair on either of those players if ADB were to be picked before them, even without playing any ODI cricket in over a year. Imagine that happening in your office life, where you’ve been a hardworking employee for your organization over the past year and all of a sudden, your services are rendered redundant because a former employee wishes to re-join.

In addition, the selectors would have set a bad precedent by accommodating de Villiers’ request to have a final swansong at the 2019 ICC World Cup. Four years from now, there would be a couple of more South African players who would be nearing their retirements or would have recently retired and could ask for the same liberties as de Villiers. Rejecting his request to play in 2019 ensured that the South African board remained rooted to their principles while stating that they couldn’t be held ransom by long-serving cricketers of the nation.

Added to this is the fact that though the former South African captain has been in stellar form in T20 tournaments all around the world, a fifty over cricket tends to be a totally different beast. Without any ODI cricket since last May, de Villiers could find himself totally out of sorts, playing at the highest level against the best bowlers around the world. Therefore, taking a gamble on his selection owing to his superior experience and previous achievements would have been a mistake.

Photo Courtesy: AFP Photo/ Wikus de Wet

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World Cup 2019South AfricaFaf du PlessisAB de Villiers