"Coming in ahead of other players, don’t think it sat well with him"

After Cricket South Africa confirmed that AB de Villiers' international retirement is final, head coach Mark Boucher revealed that the South African batting maestro didn't want to take the place of any player who has been with the team for a while. 

Earlier in April this year, De Villiers revealed that he had discussed his plans for an international comeback with Boucher ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup, but all that was put to rest on Tuesday. 

The Proteas have struggled in the batting department of late and have won only five of their last 19 T20Is. Boucher had hinted several times in the past that de Villiers could make a comeback and the right-hander was even in superb form in now-suspended IPL 2021, smoking 207 runs at an average of 51.75 and a strike rate of 164.28.

However, when CSA announced the red and white-ball squads for the upcoming tour of West Indies and Ireland, they confirmed that the “discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all that his retirement will remain final."

"AB has his reasons, which I respect. Unfortunately, he’s no longer in the mix. I say unfortunately because I think we all agree that he’s still one of the best – if not the best – T20 players in world cricket," Boucher told The Citizen.

"But he alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’t think it sat well with him, which I understand.

"But as a coach, I needed to try and get our best players, for the team and the environment. AB is an energy-booster in any environment, but I respect his reasoning. It was worth a go, but now let’s move forward."

Considered to be one of the modern greats, De Villiers played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is for South Africa scoring over 20,000 runs across three formats. He abruptly announced his international retirement in 2018.