Faf du Plessis 'Very Keen' To Have AB de Villiers Back In South Africa Team

With the talks around AB de Villiers’ return to South Africa gathering steam, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has also spoken on the same. The former Proteas skipper, who retired from international cricket in 2018, recently said that he would love to play in this year’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Australia.

While it has been nearly two years since AB de Villiers played for the Proteas but he has been busy playing in T20 leagues across the world. He is currently in Australia to ply his trade for Brisbane Heat in the ongoing Big Bash League. After making his debut for the Heat, the legendary batsman had expressed his desire of playing for his national team again.

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He had also said that he was in constant touch with South Africa head coach Mark Boucher, CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith and captain Faf du Plessis about his possible return to the national team for the showpiece event. And Faf du Plessis has now confirmed the same.

“We spoke about it, and I was very keen to have him back. That was even before the new coaching staff was on board,” Faf du Plessis said.

“Then it was the process of what does the next year look like in terms of T20 cricket-how many games; where, when, what? And then trying to unfold that in a way that we can get him back. He’s keen to come to do that I don’t know when. I can’t give you that answer yet because that decision hasn’t been taken. But there would be a series we would like to get him back to play.”

“In an ideal world we would like to try and make sure that we can play our best 11, 12, 13 players for a few games or series together leading up to the T20 World Cup,” he added.

This is not the first time that there has been talks over AB de Villiers’ return to South Africa team. Last year, he reportedly told the South Africa team-management about his desire to play in the 50-over World Cup but his request was turned down.