AB de Villiers leads tributes to Hashim Amla: ‘I salute you’

Former team-mate and captain AB de Villiers has led the tributes to batter Hashim Amla, who has now retired from all cricket at the age of 39 and after a 22-year career at the very top of the game.

Amla, who played alongside De Villiers for South Africa, informed his English county Surrey, for whom he had been playing the last few years, that he would not be returning this season after helping them win the championship in 2022.

Amla calls it quits

Amla was a mainstay in the successful Proteas teams captained by Graeme Smith, Faf du Plessis, De Villiers and briefly himself. In his 124-Test career he scored 28 centuries, at an average of 46.64. In ODI cricket he scored 27 centuries at an average of 49,46.

He retired from all South African cricket after the 2019 World Cup, but played two seasons for Surrey, scoring 1,712 runs at an average of 48,91. He is currently the batting coach of MI Cape Town in the SA20 competition.

On Wednesday night De Villiers shared his thoughts on Amla on social media, tweeting, “Hashim Amla… where do I start? Not easy. Might take me a few days, weeks, months, years. I can literally write a book about you.”

De Villiers goes on to thank Amla for always being there for him, and calls him “brother”.

“In your own unique way, you just walked out there, time and time again, and just batted, like only you can. Calm, composed, consistent, gutsy, skilful and humble, always for your team, for your country. You inspired me in a way I can’t explain.”

De Villiers ends his tweet by saying: “So, today, I salute you my friend. You served the game to perfection! I wish I could bat with you one more time.”

Here are some other tributes to Amla: