New Delhi, Dec 29: In what could be termed as a huge setback to millions of AB de Villiers fans, South Africa's talismanic wicketkeeper-batsman is reportedly mulling to skip the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2016.

Cricketing world was thrown into tizzy when reports cropped up that the swashbuckling cricketer is going to retire from Test cricket.

Earlier on Monday, Afrikaans newspaper Rapport reported that the highly-popular batsman, currently the world No.1 One-Day International (ODI) batsman and No.3 Test batsman was considering his future in the Test arena.

Despelling such rumours, the 31-year-old said that his desire to play for South Africa had not diminished, suggesting that he would not be part of tournaments like the IPL anymore.

Broadcaster SuperSport quoted de Villiers as saying, "There are a lot of rumours flying around I hear, but for the last two to three years, the only talk I've been doing is to keep myself fresh and to have a bit of rest here and there."

"If I play all the IPL (Indian Premier League) games the whole season, I do get a bit tired towards the end," the South African batsman further added.

This statement from the right-handed batter hints that he might skip the upcoming edition of the IPL to reduce workloads because of the "unsustainable" pressure of international cricket.

AB de Villiers plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and is one of the most loved foreign players in the tournament to have built a huge fan base.

His popularity amongst Indian cricket lovers could be understood with the fact that every cricket stadium reverberated with the chants of 'ABD-ABD' whenever this flamboyant batter came out in the middle throughout the recently concluded SA tour of India.

Indian cricket lovers are fan of the AB de Villiers' out-of-the-box hitting and athleticism in the field.

OneIndia News