AB de Villiers targets South Africa comeback at T20 World Cup
De Villiers in discussions over a possible international comeback with former team-mates, including head coach Mark Boucher
Wednesday 15 January 2020 17:10, UK
AB de Villiers says he "would love to" return to international cricket with South Africa at the ICC T20 World Cup in October.
The former South Africa captain retired from the sport in May 2018, but was then overlooked by Cricket South Africa (CSA) for last year's 50-over World Cup after he made himself available.
De Villiers declared his intention to play in the T20 showpiece in Australia after he scored 40 from 32 balls on his Big Bash League debut in Brisbane Heat's seven-wicket win over Adelaide Strikers.
"There's a lot that needs to happen before that becomes reality," De Villiers said.
"I would love to. I've been talking to 'Bouch' (new South Africa coach Mark Boucher), (new director of cricket) Graeme Smith and (captain) Faf (du Plessis) back home, we're all keen to make it happen.
"It's a long way away still, and plenty can happen - there's the IPL coming up, I've still got to be in form at that time.
"So I'm thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping that everything will work out. It's not a guarantee once again.
"I don't want to disappoint myself or other people, so, for now, I'm just going to try and keep a low profile, try and play the best possible cricket that I can and then see what happens towards the end of the year."
The 35-year-old says the arrival of former team-mate Boucher as head coach last month, which followed shortly after the appointment of another former South Africa captain Graeme Smith as acting director of cricket, makes a return more feasible.
"There are a lot of players (involved with CSA) who I used to play with," he continued. "Guys who understand the game, leaders of the team for many years.
"So it's much easier to communicate than what it used to be in the past. They understand what players go through - especially players that have played for 15 years internationally.
"It doesn't mean that everything is going to be sunshine and roses, but it's definitely a lot easier and it feels comfortable, the language that's being used and just the feel that everyone has at the moment in South Africa about the cricket."
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said of a potential De Villiers comeback: "We spoke about it and I was very keen to have him back. That was even before the new coaching staff was on board.
"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.
