Shane Watson wants AB de Villiers to continue playing Test cricket

De Villiers and Watson during IPL 2016.

What’s the story?

Shane Watson does not want the Proteas legend, AB de Villiers, to exit the Test arena. Having shared a dressing room with de Villiers, Watson feels there’s more to come from him in Test cricket. The Aussie also stated that he would relish the South African’s presence in the KFC Big Bash League.

“He has played over 100 Tests, he’s done incredibly well for South Africa, he’s got a young family and there are other challenges now. It would be disappointing not to see him play Tests. In the end, everyone’s got to move on at some stage and if he does there’s plenty of cricket for him to be able to play for South Africa. There’s plenty of Twenty20 leagues and Sydney Thunder are keen to get him involved,” Watson told the Unplayable Podcast.

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De Villiers’ future in the longest format of the game is uncertain after he withdrew from South Africa’s squad for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand, England and Bangladesh. The destructive batsman also missed the Proteas’ last three Test series due to an elbow injury. During that period, Faf du Plessis took over the reigns as captain.

The heart of the matter

Watson has long been an admirer of the destructive abilities of de Villiers and openly admitted that he is a “massive” fan of both AB and Virat Kohli, who led RCB to the IPL final last year.

Despite Watson expressing his disappointment with de Villiers’ limited appearances in Tests, the Aussie also indicated his desire of including the Proteas champion in the Sydney Thunder team in the Big Bash League.

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The Aussie went on to speak about AB’s qualities, stating that he is an extremely kind and generous person both on and off the field.

What’s next?

The Sydney Thunder are looking for a new international recruit after the 12-month ban of the West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell for his doping violation. The ban rules Russell out of the Big Bash League season 7 which leaves a void in the Thunder team that could be filled by de Villiers. 

Sportskeeda take

The world of cricket will miss AB de Villiers if he decides to end his Test career and we hope he does not decide to quit any time soon. The legendary player still has many years left in him, however, if he does decide to hang his boots, he can completely concentrate on the shorter formats for South Africa with plenty of teams keen on signing him up at the earliest opportunity.