No AB de Villiers for WI series: A look back at his 3 amazing T20I knocks
The odds of AB de Villiers appearing in this year's T20 World Cup have been reduced considerably with Cricket South Africa (CSA) stating that the former SA skipper has decided "once and for all, that his retirement will remain final".
De Villiers retired in May 2018 but has been an active part of T20 competitions across the world. We last saw him as part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2021.
Thereafter, news emerged that he was in discussions with SA coach Mark Boucher over a possible comeback to T20Is with a view towards featuring in the upcoming T20 World Cup, slated to be held in India.
But now that the T20 World Cup participation is out of the way, it casts a cloud on whether De Villiers would even make a comeback at all.
And while CSA and the star batsman continue to make headlines after the SA squad announcement for their series against the Windies, we take a look at some of ABD's solid T20I performances.
#1 2009 ICC WT20: 79* off 34 against Scotland
SA amassed 211 for 5 in their 20 overs against Scotland, and playing a blitzkrieg knock was De Villiers with an unbeaten 79 off just 34 deliveries. His knock was studded with five fours and six sixes.
Other notable contributions with the bat came from Jacques Kallis (48), Graeme Smith (38) and Albie Morkel (24). In reply, Scotland were bundled out for 81.
#2 2014 ICC WT20: 69* off 28 against England
South Africa won the thriller by three runs after Jos Buttler (34 off 24) and Ravi Bopara (31 off 18) threatened to take the game away chasing the Proteas' 196.
In the end, SA held their nerve to clinch the match by three runs. The first innings was a De Villiers show as he struck an unbeaten 69 off 28 deliveries comprising of nine hits to the fence and three over it.
Coming in at No. 3, de Villiers teed off from ball one after Hashim Amla (56 off 37) and Quinton de Kock (29 off 33) set the platform for a solid finish.
#3 2017: AB de Villiers' 29-ball-47 against Bangladesh
Although SA lost Hashim Amla early in the innings, De Kock and De Villiers set about rebuilding.
While the wicketkeeper-bat scored a breezy 44-ball-59, De Villiers cracked a quickfire 47 off just 29 deliveries. He struck eight fours in his innings as the team finished with 195 for 4 in their 20 overs.
Bangladesh put up a fight, however, they fell short of the target by 20 runs. Soumya Sarkar (47 off 31) and Mohammad Saifuddin (39 off 27) gave the team a fighting chance.