Officials announced on Tuesday that AB de Villiers has decided against returning to international cricket and will not represent South Africa at the Twenty20 World Cup in India later this year.
Following his retirement from all international formats in May 2018, De Villiers had been in talks with head coach Mark Boucher about returning to the limited-overs team.
“Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all that, his retirement will remain final,”
When announcing their squads for limited-overs series in the West Indies and Ireland over the next few months, Cricket South Africa said. De Villiers was at his best for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League this year until it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he would have brought a wealth of experience to a struggling South African team that has underperformed in recent years.
Meanwhile, South Africa has named Prenelan Subrayen, an uncapped off-spinner, and Lizaad Williams, a seamer, in their squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies, which begins on June 10. Subrayen, 27, is one of four frontline spin bowlers in the team, which also includes Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, and George Linde, who will be led by new captain Dean Elgar.
Following those matches, the team will fly to the Caribbean for a five-match T20 series before heading to Ireland for three One-Day Internationals and three T20 matches from July 11 to July 25.
“The team has been in a rebuilding phase for a while now but we are satisfied that the return on investment is going to show itself sooner rather than later. We have to trust the process that has been put in place and support our team while they find themselves and their way,” convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said in a statement.
Test squad vs West Indies:
Dean Elgar (captain), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Sarel Erwee, Beuran Hendricks, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Peterson, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams, Prenelan Subrayen, Marco Jansen.