AB de Villiers, the South African cricketing legend who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2021, said in an interview that if he resumes playing, he would like to compete with Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli.De Villiers, widely considered one of the best batsmen to play the sport, was named the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during an illustrious 15-year international career. He was also named as one of the five cricketers of the decade by Wisden in 2019.AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Source: ANIThe former South African captain finished his career with over 8,000 runs in Test matches, more than 9,000 runs in ODIs, and more than 1,500 runs in the T20 format. He holds several batting records, including the fastest 50, 100, and 150 in ODI matches.Want to be the best and compete with Surya, Kohli: AB de VilliersIn a recent interview with JioCinema, De Villiers expanded on various topics, such as the reason for his retirement, and what he would do if he were to ever make a comeback.De Villiers told the interviewer, “Definitely. I could still play. But the drive is not there any more. Its always just about being the best. I want to be the best if I come back and Ill want to compete with Surya [Kumar Yadav] and [Virat] Kohli.“I definitely didnt 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, its 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 cant 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.”AB De Villiers said I could still play cricket but the drive is not there anymore, its always just being the best – I want to be the best if I come back & I will want to compete with Kohli & Surya – so the moment the fire went off, I felt, what am I doing so it was tough, I… pic.twitter.com/Wa7Kc0M7Ua— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 4, 2023The Impact Player Rule, which was introduced in the 2023 iteration of the IPL, will allow teams to bring on a substitute player in between a match.De Villiers categorically ruled off a comeback to the game based on the new rules, saying that he does not want to be the best if he plays.“So, the minute that fire [to play] 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 dont want to do that. I want to be the best,” he said.
