AB De Villiers Retires From All Forms of Cricket

AB De Villiers played for 10 years in the Royal Challengers Bangalore colours.

AB De Villiers has announced his retirement. 

(Photo: BCCI)

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has called time on his cricket career, making the announcement on Friday.

AB de Villiers’ last competitive bit of cricket was in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. His association with the franchise had been for 10 years.

AB ends a 17-year career, in which he played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is for South Africa, scoring close to 20,000 runs across formats.

"It has been an incredible journey, but I have decided to retire from all cricket. Ever since the back yard matches with my older brothers, I have played the game with pure enjoyment and unbridled enthusiasm. Now, at the age of 37, that flame no longer burns so brightly," AB tweeted.

An outstanding athlete and a batter who was well known for his ability to take the game away from the opposition, AB played most of his T20 franchise cricket in the IPL. He however did turn out in the BBL, PSL, the Vitality Blast, the BPL and the MSL back home.

"I have had a long and fruitful time playing for RCB. Eleven years have just whizzed by and leaving the boys is extremely bittersweet. Of course, arriving at this decision took a lot of time, but after a lot of contemplation, I've decided to hang up my boots and spend quality time with my family," said De Villiers in a statement.

"I would like to thank the RCB management, my friend Virat Kohli, teammates, coaches, support staff, fans, and the entire RCB family for showing faith and supporting me all through these years. It has been a memorable journey with RCB. Have so many memories on the personal front to cherish for the lifetime. RCB will always be very close to me and my family and will continue to support this amazing team. I am a RCBian forever."

The South African scored 4491 runs in 156 matches for RCB, and is finishing as the second highest run-getter for the team behind Virat Kohli.

ABD, who turned out for Delhi Daredevils before joining RCB, ends his IPL career as the sixth highest run-getter with 5162 runs in 184 matches, with a best of 133* against Mumbai Indians in 2015.

In his final season in the IPL, ABD scored 313 runs in 15 games. AB retired from international cricket in 2018 but had continued to play T20 franchise cricket.