AB de Villiers’ thoughts: I’m still the man to lead the Proteas
The South African one-day skipper discusses various issues that crept up again after the side crashed out of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Man under the cosh: AB de Villiers. Photo: Ian Kington/AFP.
Another ICC tournament, another massive disappointment.
Whether he likes it or not, Proteas skipper AB de Villiers is the flagbearer of that failure as leader.
Also read: Bumbling Proteas crash and burn out of the Champions Trophy
And to just make it more awkward, the batting dynamo has been grabbing much of the attention … for the wrong reasons.
Following Sunday’s comprehensive eight-wicket loss to India, this is what De Villiers had to say on various issues.
On whether he still wants to play in 2019 World Cup…
Absolutely.
On whether he still believes he should be captaining the ODI side…
I’m a good captain and I can take this team forward. I can take us to win a World Cup, I believe. And I believed the same thing in this tournament and the last one. I love the captaincy.
On why the Proteas keep winning series but can’t be successful in ICC tournaments…
Tournaments are a little bit different. You play different teams all the time at different venues. No one said it’s going to be easy. But we do come up short for some reason in tournaments like this, and it is pretty sad.
I can’t explain to you exactly what happens. I think you saw it in this game. Just a very poor batting performance. Nothing to do with the energy or the intensity or the belief in the team. We felt we had a great chance today. We came here to win the game of cricket.
On whether the Proteas need changes after this misadventure…
That’s a question can only be answered by people who are in control of making radical decisions. That’s not my decision, that. We’ll have to wait and see what people out there want to decide or whoever is in control. I don’t think we are a bad cricket team.
On how far the Proteas are actually away of winning a major tournament…
Not a lot of people will believe me but I feel it’s pretty close. I don’t think it feels far away. It’s very difficult to say that after a performance like this, but that’s what I believe in my heart. I believe we’re very close as a unit. There’s more than enough talent, and we’ve just got to get it right when it matters most.
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