November 19, 2021, on this day, every Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fan would have cried a lot. Because, it on this day, one of the legends of South Africa cricket and RCB, AB de Villiers announced his retirement. Through a social media post, he announced his decision to all of his followers and fans. RCB, Virat Kohli and many other cricket personalities shared heartfelt post on that day to show respect to one of the best batters South Africa ever produced till date.
Retirement of AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday. Before making this important decision, he discussed the matter with the management of his IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and with Virat Kohli. In his retirement tweet, he stated that he no longer had the fire in him. De Villiers made his international debut in Test cricket in 2004. He was then offered an ODI debut in 2005, and then a T20I debut in 2006 by Cricket South Africa. From there, de Villiers never looked back. His explosive innings, one after another, earned him the nickname “Mr. 360” among fans.
De Villiers wrote a thank you note in Hindi along with his photo, saying, “My journey as a player has been incredible. Ever since I was playing cricket with my brother, I have played the game with passion. Even at 37, I no longer have that fire.”
Virat Kohli welcomed de Villiers’ decision, writing, “This is a heartbreaking decision, but I know you’ve made this decision keeping yourself and your family in mind.” Virat Kohli also wrote “I Love You” in his tweet, to which de Villiers replied, “I Love You too, Brother.”
De Villiers retired from international cricket in 2018. De Villiers, who has played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20 Internationals, is counted among the all-time best batsmen. He has scored 47 centuries in international cricket.