South Africa could benefit with the absence of AB de Villiers, says Russell Domingo
What’s the story?
South Africa's coach, Russell Domingo, has conceded that the South African team could benefit in the longer run with the absence of AB de Villiers.
AB made a comeback to South African team in the 3rd T20 match against Sri Lanka, but has made few contrasting statements in the recent past which have thrown a cloud of uncertainity over his Test future.
"They know what's going on... there's clarity. There's nobody looking over their shoulder wondering if he's going to be the one to go because AB is going back. It gives us a bit of breathing space for the batters to really knuckle down, focus on their game and not be too concerned about when AB de Villiers is coming back,” Domingo said.
In case you didn’t know...
AB de Villiers has already made himself unavailable for the upcoming series against New Zealand. He made a comeback after a long gap of 6 months, and thinks his body is not yet ready for the longest format.
Faf du Plessis has replaced him as the captain for the Test matches, and thus this statement by the head coach could well chart out the future for De Villiers.
South Africa are slated to play Test series against New Zealand and England, and would then host Bangladesh.
The heart of the matter
Domingo also believed that the absence of AB is not ideal for the time, but then this allows the team to grow and not worry about his future, and this would give everyone a piece of mind.
The head coach also expressed happiness over the return of AB in the shortest format, and revealed that the right-hander was a touch nervous before the match, but this did not curb him and he played a brilliant innings of 63 in the 3rd T20 encounter in Capetown.
South Africa have had a brilliant season across all formats, and the coach believes that having AB in the side bodes well for the team for the summer, but at the same time, his absence in the Test team should no longer be up for speculations.
What's next?
The South African Test team is on a real high after having won the series against Australia and Sri Lanka with a convincing margin, and the team did not look too awry without AB de Villiers.
Hence, these comments made by Domingo could well signal the end of de Villiers' Test career, as it has ample hints that the team has moved on from AB.
Sportskeeda’s Take
There have been plenty of speculations over the career of AB de Villiers and the batsman himself believes that his body is not yet ready for the rigours of Test cricket.
With South Africa getting their combination right for the longest format, the spot of one of the best batsmen in world seems to be in jeopardy.