South Africa cricketer Khaya Zondo has slammed former Proteas captain AB de Villiers for blocking his selection into the playing XI of the ODI side against India in 2015. He said the incident made him lose respect for De Villiers.

Zondo was expected to make his ODI debut for South Africa after JP Duminy's injury in the third match. But the team management gave Dean Elgar an opportunity over him. Elgar was not even in the initial squad and he went on to play the remaining two matches of the series.

ALSO READ: WATCH - "Hopefully, there are a few more years ahead of me," AB de Villiers on his future with RCB

The report says Zondo was picked to play the final match of the series, but De Villiers had shockingly threatened to walk out of the tour if he played. The 31-year-old opened up about the incident in his prepared submission to the Transformation Ombudsman, Adv. Dumisa Ntsebeza.

“The captain (AB de Villiers) called me over to the side, away from the rest of the team, and mentioned to me he was the one who felt I should not play. He was trying to explain himself and he was taking full responsibility for the decision,” Zondo said during the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) Hearings.

Zondo, who has played five matches for South Africa so far, went on to make his ODI debut in 2018 after missing out in 2015. He added that De Villiers was his hero but he lost all respect for him.

“I remember in the moment of him explaining himself to me, losing all respect for him as a captain, and as someone, I looked up to as a cricketing hero of mine because I could not believe this guy was trying to justify himself to me, and it came across as if I should accept this decision because the decision came from him," he said.

Zondo called it the 'hardest part of his life' when he was just watching other South African cricketers getting preference to play over him.