South Africa head coach Mark Boucher has admitted that the conversation over AB de Villiers’ international return is not yet over. The former wicket-keeper batsman also stated that he will have a chat with de Villiers at the end of the IPL.
The murmurs around the international return of AB de Villiers are still going on. Before the pandemic, AB de Villiers had targeted an international comeback and expressed his desire to play the T20 World Cup in 2020. He wanted to see how he went in the 2020 season of the IPL and then take a call.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, and things all around the world have been disrupted. The 37-year-old looked in fine touch in IPL 2020 where he amassed 454 runs averaging 45.40 and a strike rate of 158.74.
The T20 World Cup has been postponed to this year, but the talks around de Villiers’ international return are not yet over. The South African head coach revealed that de Villiers wants to prove himself once again in the IPL and show that he can dominate the best in the world.
“I did chat to him before he went to the IPL. The conversation is still very much open. AB, being the person he is, wants to perform very well at the IPL to prove to himself and everyone else that he is still a very key figure in world cricket and could dominate at that level,”
Mark Boucher was quoted saying by iol.ca.za.
Boucher also stated that he will give de Villiers a shout out after the end of the ongoing season of the IPL:
“I said to him: ‘Go do your thing, and I’ll give you a shout towards the back-end of the IPL.’ So that is where we are with him.”
De Villiers has already started the IPL 2021 with a bang. He smashed a match-winning 48 to take Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) home while chasing 160 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the season opener.
