• AB on rumours: These are crazy times

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    Former Proteas captain AB de Villiers has said reports suggesting he was asked to lead the national side again are ‘just not true’.

    De Villiers retired from international cricket in 2018 and, according to a report by Wisden, was approached by Cricket South Africa to return as captain.

    Yet, he took to Twitter to emphatically pour cold water on the reports.

    The Proteas have a new ODI and T20I captain in wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock. A successor to former Test captain Faf du Plessis, however, has not yet been appointed.

    ‘The desire is there from my side to play for South Africa, and I have been asked by Cricket South Africa to lead the Proteas again,’ De Villiers was quoted as saying by Wisden, who referenced Star Sports Cricket Connected.

    It’s a bizarre quote in the context of De Villiers’ response, and will surely infuriate many stakeholders who have been polarised by talks that the former Proteas star could still make a return to international cricket.

    READ: De Kock ‘grumpy’ with lack of centuries

    The 36-year-old De Villiers is active in domestic T20 cricket around the world, including Australia’s Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League. He recently suggested coming out of international retirement to compete for a berth in the Proteas squad for this year’s T20 World Cup.

    Whether the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia goes ahead as scheduled, though, remains in the balance. The tournament, like the IPL and other professional cricket, might be subjected to delays amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

    ‘I can’t see six months into the future. If the tournament is postponed to next year, a whole lot of things will change. At the moment, I feel available but, at the same time, I don’t know how my body will see it, and if I will be healthy at that time. If I am 100% as good as I want to be, then I will be available,’ he told Rapport.

    Photo: Gallo Images

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