Just like that, AB calls it quits

Rohit Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 23

AB de Villiers is a batting acrobat like none else; he has quicker feet, hands and eyes than any other batsman. Thus he's able to move around the crease, often outrageously far from the wickets, and still strike the ball with the middle of the bat. Sadly, his amazing skill — batting acrobatics, 180-degree scoring, the ability to hit the ball all around the ground — won't be seen in international cricket any more. It will be restricted to domestic tournaments, and in the flimsiest format of the sport, T20 cricket.

The retirement of de Villiers from international cricket, at age 34, is sad, but it's not wholly surprising for two reasons: One, he'd taken a longish break from Test cricket in 2016-17, playing no Tests in 23 months; two, big money from T20 leagues has made players financially secure at younger ages than ever before.

What is surprising is that he's retired from ODI cricket as well — after all, his declared goal for a long time has been winning the 50-over World Cup for South Africa. Yet, with the World Cup a year away, de Villiers is gone.

Last year, de Villiers vowed: “For now the most important thing is the 2019 World Cup. I want to make sure we lift that trophy (World Cup).” He said he wanted to be at his best, and for that reason he had taken a break from Test cricket.

Run out of gas

But that was last year — today he said that he's simply run out of gas. “I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect,” he said in a video statement on Wednesday. “After 114 Test matches, 228 ODIs and 78 T20 Internationals, it is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired.”

Genius bat

Genius in sport is rare, despite the overuse of the word; in tennis, Federer's creative shot-making makes him a genius, but Nadal's defensive retrievals don't make him one. In cricket, de Villiers' creativity made him a genius, even as the great Rickey Ponting wasn't one despite all his runs.

Is genius obliged to fulfil itself? To please fans and connoisseurs, must great sportspersons always perform at the highest level? If yes, then perhaps de Villiers should have prolonged his international career. But then, who are we to deny him his autonomy merely on the grounds that he's a genius? He's chosen his time and, surely, he knows his mind best.

Conflicting formats

When cricket didn't pay very well, players would play on and on at the international stage. Many of them would have to be nudged out, and a large number of them are bitter about the end of their careers: They believe they could have played on. They loved the sport, sure, but they didn't have anything else — no T20 cricket leagues, few post-retirement jobs as a commentator or columnist. 

Now the cricketers have options — thus, at age 32, de Villiers was able to take a long break from Test cricket. A top batsman of 30 years ago wouldn't have even contemplated such a step. Now, at 34, de Villiers can retire from international cricket, and it's fantastic that such a genius player is financially secure. But one can't help wishing he had prolonged his Test/ODI career rather than his T20 career.