Former Proteas captain Shaun Pollock has questioned the timing of batsman AB de Villiers’ decision to avail himself to the South African World Cup squad.

De Villiers, who retired from international cricket last year, reportedly made himself available for selection the day prior to the announcement of South Africa’s World Cup squad. Cricket South Africa, however, rejected the offer.

‘In the world, timing is everything. You always love AB because of what he is capable of, and that he can win games on his own. But you can understand if that was the case – if it did come exactly when the team was going to be announced – that’s quite disruptive from a team’s perspective,’ said Pollock in a video for the International Cricket Council’s website.

‘If it was up to me, I’d love to have him in the team. He’d be in any team South Africa has ever had – an all-time XI, a World XI even from a one-day cricket perspective. But I do think the timing would have been something they would have considered – and maybe he should have spoken up a little bit earlier.

‘You always cherish the performances he has produced, and when you see bad batting from South Africa, you think it would be nice to be able to call on him. I would have loved to have him, but I can understand why the decision was made.’

South Africa are on the brink of being removed from contention for a berth in the semi-finals. They’ve suffered defeats to England, Bangladesh and India. One more loss will likely remove them from the running for a berth among the final four teams. They will play the West Indies on Monday.

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