It has been a long wait for cricket fans and followers since November 2021 to learn more about the retirement decision taken by the former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers. And now the wait seems to have ended as the former wicketkeeper has finally commented on his decision to retire from international cricket.
37-year-old De Villiers said that cricket has been about enjoyment for him.
ABD's words
"Cricketing wise, it has been coming for quite some time, it's always been about enjoyment for me. And the minute where I felt the difficulty of travelling and being there at the IPL for two and half to three months a year, specifically with this one that was spilt into two, bubbles and this and that made things very complicated with regards to cricket and the enjoyment thereof," said De Villiers during a show with TimesLive.
The former South Africa skipper also talked about the exact time when he had made up his mind to retire from international cricket.
"I found myself on the park where scoring runs and doing well for the team didn't really match with everything that goes with it anymore and that is where the balance started leading towards hanging my gloves up.”
Timing of the retirement
A lot of players very often have to face a lot of criticism for being too late to take probably, the hardest decision of their career. But timing has been an essential part of Mr. 360. And when it came down to thinking about the retirement, De Villiers showed exactly that same sweet timing he has always been famous for.
The decision to retire might have been a difficult decision to make but De Villiers thought that the minute the enjoyment of the game started going down, it was time for him to move on.
According to him he has never been the guy who would push every single bit of energy of his ability and cricketing skill.
“I have never been the guy who is going to push every single bit of energy of my ability and my cricketing skill; I have always played for the enjoyment of the game. And the minute that sort of started going down, I knew it was time for me to move on," he added.
