Jacques van der Westhuyzen

By Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Head of Sport


AB de Villiers retirement: How the cricket world has reacted

The former Proteas star has decided to spend more time with his family.


The cricket world on Friday paid tribute to former South African captain AB de Villiers who called time on his career.

De Villiers, 37, played T20, ODI and Test cricket for the Proteas in a lengthy career and more recently featured in T20 leagues around the world, especially Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

On Friday he said he was done with the game at all levels.

Players, administrators and fans all paid tribute to, and shared videos of, the man affectionately known as “Mr 360” for his ability to play shots all round the crease.

De Villiers’ friend and RCB team-mate, India star Virat Kohli, paid an emotional tribute to the South African, calling him “the best player of our times.”

https://twitter.com/AbdullahNeaz/status/1461628974774116356

De Villiers had fans all over the world thanks to his destructive hitting. He scored 8,765 Test runs at an average of 50.66, 9,577 ODI runs at 53.50 and 1,672 T20 runs at 26.12 and strike rate of 135.

But De Villiers could also occupy the crease and often batted for long periods in Test cricket for the Proteas.

Below are more tweets of how the cricketing world has reacted to the South African calling it quits.

https://twitter.com/Coverdrive01/status/1461591164247707649

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