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AB de Villiers: ‘I have several offers & will play in the IPL for a few years’

by Wisden Staff 5 minute read

AB de Villiers has conceded that he has several offers and still wants to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after announcing his retirement from international cricket in May.

At the time, the former South Africa batsman said: “I have no plans to play overseas – in fact, I hope I can continue to be available for the Titans in domestic cricket.”

De Villiers hit eight sixes as he scored 68 in 30 balls

AB de Villiers playing for IPL franchise RCB

It appears the 34-year-old has made a u-turn on his overseas stance. “I will keep on playing IPL for a few years, and I would like to play for the Titans, and help some of the youngsters,” he told iol.co.za. “But there are no set plans. I haven’t been able to say that for a long time.”

“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. Bangalore is a special place, a second home, really.

I played my 100th Test there, and obviously Royal Challengers Bangalore 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 just play cricket.”

Many South Africa fans – and neutral supporters – were upset to lose a popular performer from the international stage at the peak of his powers. Many thought he should have ploughed on until the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup, but de Villiers has reaffirmed that he “run out of gas.”

“For a long time the World Cup was a massive goal,” he said. “But in the last few years I have realised that it isn’t realistic to measure yourself purely on what you achieve in that tournament.

“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. I also didn’t want to be picking and choosing my way through fixtures from now until then. It wouldn’t be fair.”

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