AB may be courting Aussie Big Bash
If Proteas superstar AB de Villiers decides to quit the Test team, he could end up playing in the Australia Big Bash T20 League (BBL).
The cricket.com.au website reports that De Villiers has not yet made it clear to coach Russell Domingo and captain Faf du Plessis about whether he wants to continue playing in the longest format of the game.
The Proteas ODI captain has been out of action since August with an elbow injury that has seen him miss out on Test series wins over New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka, as well as the 5-0 one-day whitewash of the Aussies late last year.
But De Villiers is expected to return in the coming weeks, and feature for South Africa in the T20 games against Sri Lanka.
However, with a three-Test trip to New Zealand looming in February, it is unclear whether the right-hander will play, having already relinquished the captaincy to Du Plessis on a permanent basis.
“I’m not sure how AB will feel in terms of Test cricket, so we will have to see,” Du Plessis said the 3-0 clean sweep over Sri Lanka.
“We are excited to have him back in the one-day team. I am hoping he decides to play (Tests) for us. He is obviously a world-class batter and I, as a captain, would love to have him as a leader in our team, and obviously as a batter. He is a fantastic player.
“He hasn’t played for a while. The plan was for him to play in this series and then the one-dayers start, but now we will see what AB’s plans are – whether he wants to play (Test cricket).”
South African coach Domingo feels De Villiers needs to make a call soon. “We need to sit down with him and plan his future,” he said.
“AB has got to make that decision, I can’t decide on whether he plays or not. When I say that, I mean AB has got to make the decision about whether he is available, and the selectors have got to make the decision whether he plays. He has obviously got to make some decision about his future in cricket.”
But it is believed that contact had previously been made with De Villiers by the Sydney Thunder team about playing in the Australian Big Bash League (BBL) after Jacques Kallis and Mike Hussey retired.
Only a handful of South Africans have played in the BBL before as it clashes with the local Test season over the festive period. But if De Villiers leaves the five-day arena, he could be available for most of the tournament if he only plays ODI and T20 cricket for the Proteas.