AB de Villiers rules out return to top-level cricket after undergoing eye surgery

De Villiers also spoke about his future plans and if he will coach any side.

AB de Villiers | RCB TwitterLegendary South African cricketer AB de Villiers has broken many hearts and said that he will not be coming out of his retirement from cricket. De Villiers retired from international cricket in 2019 and from all cricket after IPL 2021.

He did not play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022. Fans have been urging AB de Villiers to reconsider his call and return to the field but the former South Africa batter confirmed on Monday that he has no such plans, revealing that he underwent eye surgery due to a retinal detachment earlier this year.

However, he has said that he will go to Bengaluru during the IPL 2023 and thank all the Bengaluru fans for the support he had received over the years. De Villiers played 157 matches for RCB and hit 4522 runs.

"I will go to Chinnaswamy Stadium next year. But not for playing cricket. I am going to apologize to the RCB fans for not winning the IPL title so far. I also want to thank them for their support over the past decade. I can't play cricket anymore. Because I had surgery on my right eye," De Villiers said in a Twitter space hosted by himself.

He also added that he is planning to start a YouTube channel and that Virat Kohli would be one of the first guests on his show.

Furthermore, he revealed that he received an offer from Legends League Cricket to play the game, but he had to refuse due to his eye surgery.

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"I am too old now. Legends League seems to be a lot of fun. I was invited, but I had an eye operation. I know you might think that I can play with one eye but I would rather not do that," de Villiers said.

He said he wants to share his knowledge with the next generation of cricketers but ruled out coaching a professional side in the near future, but will not be coaching any side as he wants to spend time with his family after playing top-level cricket for 18 years.

"I am definitely not planning to coach a team. I absolutely love to share everything that I have learnt, that will definitely come. But I am not going to be joining a team, coaching and travelling the world again. I am very happy to spend a bit of time at home after travelling for 18 years," he added.

The former Proteas captain also revealed that he will soon visit India in November for a 'special' project.

(India Today inputs)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 03 Oct, 2022

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