Graeme Smith hints at AB de Villiers' comeback for T20I series vs West Indies

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has been pretty vocal about a possible return from international retirement after calling it quits in 2018. De Villiers, regarded as one of the finest batsmen to play the game, last played against Australia, in a Test match, in March-April 2018 and has since only featured in franchise cricket.

De Villiers’ super performances in franchise cricket and especially for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL has always triggered opinions that he retired too early from international cricket. In April, South Africa head coach Mark Boucher hinted towards de Villiers’ South Africa comeback in the T20 World Cup and even the swashbuckling right-handed batsmen gave a positive reaction to it.

 “It will be fantastic to play for South Africa again, I will be speaking with Boucher late end of IPL – last year, he asked me whether I am interested and I said ‘absolutely’,” de Villiers had said in an IPL press conference.

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Now, Cricket South Africa Director Graeme Smith has also hinted towards AB de Villiers’ comeback in international cricket along with the likes of Imran Tahir and Chris Morris.

“AB is different discussion as he is retired and whether he comes out of retirement is an ongoing discussion,” Smith was quoted as saying by Sport24.

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“In terms of free agents, they are always available. They play in T20 leagues around the world and are gaining more experience in the format than most. We have seen the success the West Indies have had with that policy, so it would be considered by selectors. However, many factors go into that like team dynamics and the players in the system,” the former South African captain added.