The cricketing world was left stunned on May 23, 2018, as the former South African captain AB de Villiers suddenly announced his retirement from all the formats of international cricket.
AB de Villiers is one of the most loved players in the whole world. Fans all over the globe are expressing their sorrow as one of the greatest cricketer of the era bade goodbye to the game over social media.
In a video message, de Villiers stated:
“I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect. After 114 Test matches, 228 ODI’s and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired. This is a tough decision, I have thought long and hard about it and I’d like to retire while still playing decent cricket. After the fantastic series wins against India and Australia, now feels like the right time to step aside.”
I’ve made a big decision today pic.twitter.com/In0jyquPOK
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) May 23, 2018
de Villiers, also known as Mr. 360, rose through the ranks to become one of the finest and most versatile batsmen across all formats. With just a year to go for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, his immediate retirement has sent shock waves through his team and the cricketing fraternity.
Here’s a look at the legend’s ‘record book’ and stats:
1. AB de Villiers has the records of scoring the fastest 50 (in 16 balls), the fastest 100 (in 31 balls) and the fastest 150 (in 64 deliveries) in ODIs.
2. Each of de Villiers’ ODI innings where he scored centuries boast of a strike rate of over 100, which makes him the only player to hold such a record.
3. He played 114 Test matches in which he scored 8,765 runs – boasting of 46 fifties and 22 hundreds, with a strike rate of 54.52. In all, he struck 64 sixes 1,064 boundaries in his Test career.
4. He has 228 ODI matches under his belt. He scored 9,577 runs, aided by 53 fifties, 25 hundreds, with strike rate of 101. In all, he struck 840 boundaries and 204 sixes in his ODI career. His highest score in this format was 176. He was only 423 runs away from the 10,000-run landmark in ODI cricket.
5. de Villiers has also played 78 T20 matches, scoring 1,672 runs at a strike rate of 135.17 with 10 half-centuries to his name.
6. In the IPL, he has represented Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Despite all these achievements, de Villiers signed off from international cricket saying that he was tired!
Players may come and go, but I fear that the world will not see another ABD!
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