AB de Villiers announces retirement from all forms of cricket, says ‘flame no longer burns so brightly’

One of the best cricketers of all time AB de Villiers on Friday announced that he will be retiring from all forms of cricket.

The 37-year-old cricketer retired from international cricket in 2018 but continued playing T20 franchise cricket. He last played in the IPL 2021 for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

He took to social to share the news with the world where he said that his enthusiasm “no longer burns so brightly”.

“That’s the reality I must accept – and, even if it may seem sudden, that is why I am making this announcement today. I’ve had my time. Cricket has been exceptionally kind to me,” he wrote.

His post on Instagram was a long and heartfelt goodbye where he talked of his days of yore and ultimately declared why and how he arrived at the decision of retiring.

He thanked his followers for sticking with him through thick and thin and recalled the beginning of his cricket journey, thanks to backyard matches with his brothers. De Villiers IPL team for long, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) recalled his stint with the team. He too expressed his love and affection for the franchise.

“I’m going to be an RCBian for life. Every single person in the RCB set-up has become family to me. People come & go, but the spirit & the love we have for each other at RCB will always remain. I’ve become half Indian now & I’m proud of that.” – @ABdeVilliers17 #ThankYouAB pic.twitter.com/5b6RUYfjDY — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 19, 2021

The former South African cricketer is regarded as one of the best batters of all time because of his ability to play shots all around the park and that also earned him the nickname Mr 360. He scored 9,424 runs across 340 T20s. He also played 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is for South Africa.