De Villiers’ Test future in doubt

Cape Town, January 15

South African batsman AB de Villiers is close to retiring from Test cricket in order to extend his time in limited-overs formats, a media report said on Sunday. “I’m not sure how AB will feel in terms of Test cricket, so we will have to see,” South African Test skipper Faf du Plessis was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia’s website on Sunday. 

South Africa whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in a three-match series, winning by an innings and 118 runs in Johannesburg on Saturday. “We are excited to have him back in the One-day team. I am hoping he decides to play (Tests) for us. He is obviously a world-class batter and I, as a captain, would love to have him as a leader in our team, and obviously as a batter. He is a fantastic player,” said du Plessis.

Struggling with an elbow injury that has seen him out of action since May 2016, de Villiers stood down from Test captaincy after South Africa completed an impressive 2-1 series win over Australia in December. — IANS