AB de Villiers, who shocked the cricket world with his sudden decision to retire from the international game, has committed himself to the IPL at least.

More specifically, to the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

‘Bangalore is a special place, a second home, really,’ he said in an interview with IOL. ‘I played my 100th Test there, and obviously, RCB is a massive part of my life. India as a country has taken me in, and it’s hard to explain what that feels like.

‘I will keep on playing IPL for a few years,’ he said.

The wonderful thing about his retirement is that he can say ‘there are no set plans’.

‘There are some offers on the table from around the world, but it will be nice to wake up and wonder what to do, to be normal,’ he said. ‘I would also like to play for the Titans and help some of the youngsters.’

The master batsman was seemingly on top of his game when he announced after the winning series against Australia that he would quit international cricket. He had previously taken a sabbatical to freshen up for the 2019 World Cup until he realised that winning that coveted trophy would not define his long career.

‘I guess that once I acknowledged to myself that I didn’t have to measure my career on one tournament, place so much emphasis on it, it became easier to make my decision,’ he said at the time. ‘I also didn’t want to be picking and choosing my way through fixtures from now until then. It wouldn’t be fair.’