5 legendary cricketers who will not be playing the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup
The twelfth edition of Cricket's showpiece event, the ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted by England and Wales in the summer of 2019. Ten teams along with the hosts England will be participating in the mega tournament which will take place from May 30- July 14, 2019. 11 venues are slated to host 48 matches of the Cricket World Cup next year. Over the years, there have been many great players in the history of the game, who have mesmerized the fans with their brilliant display of cricket.
Let us now look at five legendary players whose alst World Cup appearance was at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Fans will surely miss these players when the caravan moves to the United Kingdom next year.
#1) AB de Villiers (South Africa)
The former South African batsman is arguably one of the most loved cricketers in the world. If winning the hearts is an art, then ABD is the Picasso of it. The Proteas veteran is the proud owner of several batting records. Having made his ODI debut for South Africa in February 2005 against England, he went on to represent his Nation in 228 ODIs in a career spanning 13 years. He represented South Africa in three ICC Cricket World Cups- the 2007 World Cup (West Indies), 2011 World Cup (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) and 2015 World Cup (Australia and New Zealand).
Captaining the South African side, he guided them to the semi-finals at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where they lost eventually lost to the co-hosts, New Zealand by 4 wickets (D/L method). A distraught became emotional after the loss and he found it difficult to control the tears after a disappointing semi-final result. AB de Villiers currently holds the record for the world's fastest ODI half-century (off just 16 balls against the West Indies at Johannesburg in January 2015), century (off just 31 balls against the West Indies at Johannesburg in January 2015) and 150 (off 64 balls against the West Indies at Sydney during the ICC Cricket World Cup in February 2015).
Not just in the ODIs, he also holds the record for the fastest Test century and fastest T20I half-century by a South African batsman. AB de Villiers is someone who could score all over the park and is as rightly regarded as 'Mr.360°' in the cricket circle.He was a treat to watch whenever he entered the pitch with the bat.
Fans all over the world were in a state of shock, when he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on May 23, 2018. None expected this announcement as everyone wanted him to continue until the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales. The former Proteas skipper will undoubtedly be missed at the World Cup next year. Though the coveted title eluded him during his wonderful career, he will forever remain a 'legend' of the Gentleman's game. This world will never witness another AB de Villiers.
ODI stats: Matches-228, Runs-9577, Average-53.5, Highest score-176, Catches-176, Stumpings-5