South Africa's batting mainstay AB de Villiers has confirmed that he wants to lessen his workload in international cricket. The cricketer made the comments amidst claims that was considering Test retirement. A local South African newspaper, Rapport, had reported on Sunday that de Villiers was seriously contemplating hanging up his boots in the longest format.
Speaking to SuperSport, however, de Villiers said the talk has been about 'not to play all kinds of cricket', suggesting that he was perhaps going to pick and choose the tournaments he would play in in the future.
"There are a lot of rumours flying around I hear," de Villiers said. "But for the last two to three years the only talk I've been doing is to keep myself fresh and to have a bit of rest here and there. It's always been the most important thing for me to enjoy my cricket. It's just important to look at the schedule moving forward, that's the talk in the camp and for me maybe not to play all kinds of cricket.
"If I play all the IPL games the whole season, I do get a bit tired towards the end. That's the only thing that I've been talking about in the last while. To keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. I love representing my country and nothing has changed," he added.
The 31-year-old De Villiers is regarded as the backbone of the top-ranked Test team's batting but the player plans to cut back on his participation in all forms of the game. His workload increased with his selection as a wicketkeeper in the ongoing Test series against England to allow for an extra batsman in the line-up. He had previously given up the gloves to concentrate on his batting.
De Villiers, who scored 49 against England in the opening Test on Sunday, averages 51.39 in Tests, 54.21 in one-day internationals and 31.15 in Twenty20s. In the ICC world rankings, De Villiers is the top ODI batsman and third on the list for Test players.
Meanwhile, Morne Morkel denied talks of AB's retirement at the close of play on day two, saying that the story in Rapport was just that - a story. "AB is the ultimate sportsman. He is the rock of our batting line-up," Morkel was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "Even though there was a lot of pressure on him, he has seen this movie before and he knows how to play it. The talks he gives in the dressing room give us a lot of hope. It's very inspiring and every dressing room would love to have him. source - cricbuzz.com
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