Reasons why AB de Villiers retired sooner than expected
On 23rd of May, the cricketing world was gearing up for another grandeur event - an IPL final which was just four days away. The predictions were on and the craze was sky-high as always. But then came a shocking news as 34-year-old AB de Villiers had announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, which forced cricket fans to shift their attention from IPL to the retirement news.
He came up with two reasons for the sudden retirement, first he stated that he had run out of steam to cop up the physical demands of the game and the second reason was that for him, playing for South Africa meant playing all three formats or nothing.
Any sportsperson's retirement can draw two kind of reactions - why did he retire so early or why he took so long to retire. The former question was asked more in AB's case. But did he retire too early?
#1 South Africa's chances in the 2019 World Cup
None of AB's fans wanted to see their superhero in the list of great players without a World Cup. Many times, AB himself expressed his desire to win the World Cup for South Africa and break the jinx associated with the team. With AB's ever-lasting injury concerns, everyone knew that 2019 was his last chance but when he suddenly announced the retirement, eye-brows were raised wondering what happened to that dream. Probably, AB himself realized that it's a dream far from reality.
Chances of South Africa winning the next year World Cup are bleak. They have far too many issues to resolve before the start of next year's showpiece event. And they have a questionable preparation plan too with Australia's limited overs tour to South Africa next month being the only competitive series before the World Cup.
SA lost to India by a 5-1 margin in their own backyard a few months before AB's retirement, which showcased South Africa's problems to the world. They have too many issues in the batting department, with the audition for the right players still going on for more than two slots. This struggle might have forced de Velliers to give up on World Cup hopes.