Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers wanted to be part of South African squad of World Cup 2019 but his request was denied by South African management, a report by ESPNcricinfo has stated.
According to the report, AB made the offer to be part of South Africa in April 2019, just one day before the final squad was announced. After an impressive season in IPL 2019 while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, AB contacted South African skipper Faf Du Plessis, head coach Ottis Gibson and convenor of selectors Linda Zondi and made his wish to be part of South African squad in World Cup 2019. But his request was not even considered.
There were two main reasons to reject AB's request. First, AB retired from international cricket in May 2018, one year before World Cup 2019 was scheduled. Therefore, he was out of the selection criteria, which needs playing South African domestic cricket or international cricket in the intervening months.
Moreover, calling AB back would have been unfair for other players who performed well in his absence. For instance, Rassie van der Dussen made his debut in January 2019 and hit three fifties in four ODI innings.
This revelation has become of much importance now following South Africa’s three consecutive defeats in the first three matches in World Cup 2019. In two matches against England and India, South Africa failed miserably in batting. Perhaps, AB de Villiers’ presence in World Cup 2019 would have brought different results for South Africa and added more strength to the team.
