South Africa vs England: Is AB de Villiers considering retirement from Tests?

World No. 1 Test team South Africa are currently taking on England in the first of the four-Test series. Even as the Boxing Day Test is finely poised, with England on the front foot, all the attention of the cricketing world is getting diverted towards one man. When the series draws to a close late in January, will we have seen AB de Villiers donning the whites for the last time? [caption id=“attachment_2562354” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of AB de Villiers. AFP[/caption] Reports in South African media have surfaced over the last few days suggesting de Villiers is considering his future in the longest format. According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, an Afrikaans newspaper, Rapport, carried the news that several of de Villiers’ current and former team-mates have said that events in recent years have led to the South African superstar seriously reconsidering his Test future. For his part, AB de Villiers, while saying he still loves playing for the country, has said he has to reassess his workload. “There are a lot of rumours flying around I hear, but for the last two to three years the only talk I’ve been doing is to keep myself fresh and to have a bit of rest here and there,” de Villiers said before the start of the third day’s play in the ongoing Test in Durban. De Villiers went on to say that there is a talk in the Proteas camp for him to manage his schedule and not to play in three formats of cricket, leaving the door ajar for a potential shock retirement. “If I play all the IPL games the whole season, I do get a bit tired towards the end of the season,” AB de Villiers said. “That’s the only thing that I’ve been talking about in the last while. To keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. I love representing my country and nothing has changed.” De Villiers, in addition to being the batting mainstay of a lineup that is struggling to scores runs, has also taken on the responsibilities of a wicketkeeper for the first two Tests of the ongoing series against England. The 31-year-old has kept wickets just 23 times in his 103-Test career and it’s a role he’s been reluctant to perform in recent years due to a chronic back issue. South Africa’s T20I skipper Faf du Plessis had said some time back that de Villiers would only put on the keeping gloves for the shortest format of the game. But the 13-man squad which the Proteas have announced for the England series has de Villiers as the only recognised keeper as Dane Vilas and Quinton de Kock have not made the cut. “One of the issues that concerned us during the tour to India was the lack of depth to our batting, particularly in the lower order,” selection convener Linda Zondi was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Thursday. “And the change in AB’s role means that we can now have a specialist batsman at No.7. We now feel that the side has a much better balance about it without in any way reducing the tactical options available to our captain, Hashim Amla.” Morne Morkel denied talks of the Superman’s retirement at the close of play on day two, saying that the story in Rapport was just that - a story. Morkel chose not to talk about the other details in the report that hinted that de Villiers was unhappy with the current Cricket South Africa set-up, ever since stories about selection interference in the Cricket World Cup 2015 started doing the rounds. “AB is the ultimate sportsman. He is the rock of our batting line-up,” Morkel is quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “Even though there was a lot of pressure on him, he has seen this movie before and he knows how to play it. The talks he gives in the dressing room give us a lot of hope. It’s very inspiring and every dressing room would love to have him.” With Brendon McCullum announcing his retirement from international cricket after the series against Australia in February, if AB de Villiers’ is indeed considering quitting Test cricket, the sport will stand to lose two of the biggest entertainers in the history of the game who have redefined the way the longest format is played. With IANS inputs