Dear AB de Villiers, pull off another 360 one last time
In the most shocking news of the summer, South African great, AB de Villiers, has decided to hang up his boots.
Stating, via a video message, that he had "run out of gas", the 34-year-old batsman said 'the time is right' for him to call time on his international career.
"I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect," de Villiers said on Wednesday (May 23).
"After 114 Test matches, 228 ODIs and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired," he added.
Having bid goodbye to footballing legends Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres earlier this week, to lose another legend, this time in cricket, is a little too much for the sports community to swallow.
But the news of ABD walking away is undoubtedly the most shocking of all, as there seemed to be no signs of him slowing down, at least in the limited overs format. He has been his usual swashbuckling self, getting better and better with each game, as evidenced by his season for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2018, where he amassed 480 runs in 12 matches.
In early 2017, he made himself unavailable for Tests by taking a long break, until the end of the year, when he decided to come back and captain the side against Zimbabwe in place of Faf du Plessis who had to pull out at the last moment due to sickness. He's since racked up numerous awards and honours, including series wins over powerhouses, India and Australia.
He's conquered everything there is to conquer, as a batsman, basking in individual glory. However, for all his performances and heroics, an elusive title at ICC events has eluded the modern-day great. The bitter memories of 2015 and 2017 might have just been too much even for the mighty de Villiers. After the semi-final exit against New Zealand, a teary-eyed de Villiers, captaining the side, was left speechless. Yet, as the leader, he picked himself up and rallied the team. 2 years later, it was the same old story of South Africa choking, this time in the Champions Trophy, exiting in the group stages.
He is indeed a champion who will run until his legs give way, converting every single into a double, pushing himself to his superhuman limits. He has done it day in and day out for nearly a decade, carrying South Africa on his shoulders.
As we let things slowly sink in, the shock is quietly taken over by sadness at the thought of not being able to witness de Villiers entertain the fans anymore. But it is his decision and for everything he has given to us over the years, he deserves to step down when he feels the time is right.
Maybe if the gentleman's game had given something back to one of its finest gentlemen, in the form of a team honour, we would have seen him bow out with a huge smile, instead of being tired and running out of gas.
No matter what, his legacy will remain etched in cricketing folklore as the revolutionary who redefined batting. A small part of me wishes that AB de Villiers pulls a 360, reverses his decision to quit and goes out there to conquer the world in 2019 in England.
But, amidst all our dreams, there is a harsh reality that is the drawing of the curtains on a career that ended with a staggering 20,014 international runs (8765 in Tests, 9577 in ODIs and 1672 in T20Is) with a batting average over 50 in both Tests (50.66) and ODIs (53.50).
Adios, AB.
You will be missed.