Jonty Rhodes reveals AB de Villiers wanted to quit Test cricket long back

New Delhi, Aug 10: At a time when fans and experts feel South Africa's Test side needs veteran AB de Villiers more than ever, former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes has revealed that the legendary batsman was thinking of retiring from the longer format long back.

Rhodes, who is in India as a mentor for Tamil Nadu Premier League franchise Ruby Trichy Warriors, was quoted by Times of India as saying.

(Du Plessis doesn't expect de Villiers' return)

"I spoke to ABD on Tuesday with regards to the Global T20 that's going to happen in SA. And certainly, he didn't ask my opinion about his career. Every player knows when their time is right. The frustrating part from the South African context is that when you are waiting for somebody to come back in, you are almost trying to plug the gaps with options. And you play that guy (who replaces ABD) in and out of a side," Rhodes revealed.

The legendary fielder, went on revealing that the former Proteas skipper has been willing to retire from the longer format but board kept him away from retirement.

"I think he wanted to retire a while back from Test cricket, but Cricket South Africa persuaded him to stay on. Before 2016, he was talking to people about his Test future. In SA, people are critical because they don't see the IPL mechanism. They think cricketers are trying to make as much money as possible and it's often at the expense of national call-ups," Rhodes added further.

De Villiers, one of the world's leading batsmen, opted out of South Africa's Test series against England. The explosive batsman has stayed away from the longer format of the game to keep himself fit for limited-overs. He last played a Test match in January 2016.

The Mumbai Indians' fielding coach added that several players from South Africa participate in domestic leagues across the world and that makes things tough for them, unlike their Indian counterparts who get to play only IPL as the BCCI doesn't allow them.

Earlier last week, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said he too feels de Villiers' chances of returning to Test fold are bleak.

"We all know how good AB is, and we missed him, but we've spent too much time talking about 'when is AB going to come back?'," he explained. "The hope of him coming back is something I think we need to move past... If AB comes back it's a huge bonus... but I don't expect it," du Plessis said during a press conference after losing the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

South Africa won the series 3-1 against England and it was their batting which disappointed the visitors the most.

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