I'll want to compete with Surya and Kohli if I come back: AB de Villiers

De Villiers said he can still play international cricket but doesn’t have the desire anymore.

It’s been more than five years since AB de Villiers called time on his international cricket career. The South Africa batting maverick was very much at the peak of his powers when he decided to quit international cricket.

During his illustrious career, De Villiers represented South Africa in 114 Tests, scoring 8765 runs at an average of 50.66 with 22 centuries and 46 fifties.

In particular, he left his mark in the 50-over format, amassing 9577 runs from 228 games with 25 hundreds and 53 half-centuries. He owns the unique record of hitting the fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls), and 150 (64 balls) in One-Day Internationals.

De Villiers also played 78 T20Is for South Africa and scored 1672 runs from it. In the shortest format, he specifically made a mark while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

In a recent interview with JioCinema, AB de Villiers recently said that he can still play international cricket but he doesn’t have the desire anymore.

The 39-year-old further expressed that if he was to make a comeback, he would strive to be the best and would relish the competition with Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli.

"Definitely. I could still play. But the drive is not there anymore. It's always just about being the best. I want to be the best if I come back and I'll want to compete with Surya and Kohli,” De Villiers stated.

"I definitely didn't play enough cricket towards the back end of my career. I think that was the main thing. With this Impact Player, I know a lot of people are celebrating, it's going to lengthen the careers of players. To me, I could never do that. I could never just play for two or three months of the year because I want to be the best in the world, and you can't do that if you play for three months of the year. Absolutely no chance. Yes. You can practice for nine months. But nothing, nothing compares middle practice with being out there and competition.

"So, the minute that fire went off being the best in the world, I felt like, what? What am I doing? So, what exactly is going on now? So was tough the last few years in that regard as well. I felt like, you know what, I can still have my super knock here and there, but I don't want to do that. I want to be the best," he added.

After retiring from international cricket in May 2018, AB de Villiers plied his trade in T20 leagues across the globe. He retired from all forms of cricket in November 2021.

De Villiers played 157 matches for RCB in IPL and scored 4522 runs at a strike rate of 158.33 with two hundreds and 37 half-centuries.