Abraham Benjamin de Villiers confirmed in a social media interaction on Monday that he will not return to playing cricket after undergoing surgery on his right eye.
Speaking through his Twitter account, the three-time ICC player of the year said, “I will go to Chinnaswamy Stadium next year. But not for playing cricket. I am going to apologise to the RCB fans for not winning the IPL title so far. I also want to thank them for their support over the past decade. I can’t play cricket anymore. Because I had surgery on my right eye.”
A.B. de Villiers played 184 IPL matches and scored 5162 runs, mostly with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
De Villiers, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the game, announced his retirement in a similar fashion on Twitter in 2021. Until 2021, he was the only overseas player to be picked in all IPL auctions since the tournaments’ inception.
Nicknamed ‘Mr. 360’, De Villiers’ range of unorthodox shot-making behind the wicket-keeper earned him the reputation of being one of the most lethal and creative batsman of the modern era.
De Villiers spoke on a range of topics including an upcoming YouTube channel, but ruled out a coaching gig in favour of spending time at home.
“I am definitely not planning to coach a team. I absolutely love to share everything that I have learnt, and that will come. But I am not going to be joining a team, coaching and travelling the world again. I am very happy to spend a bit of time at home after travelling for 18 years,” de Villiers said.
A.B. De Villiers also revealed turning down the opportunity to feature in Legends League Cricket in India due to his surgery.
“I am too old now. Legends League seems to be a lot of fun. I was invited, but I had an eye operation. I know you might think that I can play with one eye but I would rather not do that,” de Villiers’ added.
