Dale Steyn asks Proteas fans to respect AB de Villiers' decision to retire

Sport360 staff 13:17 18/08/2018
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  • Steyn has asked fans to cut ABD some slack for his decision.

    Dale Steyn has called on South African cricket fans to respect AB de Villiers’ decision to retire from international cricket.

    The South Africa batsman called time on his 14-year international cricket earlier this year in a move which took the cricketing world by surprise. The 34-year-old had recently cited ‘unbearable’ pressure and demands of international cricket as the reason for his shock retirement.

    His retirement did not go down too well with many in South Africa with some going as far as to accuse the batsman of being ‘selfish’. Steyn, though, has called on fans to cut ABD some slack.

    “I believe AB doesn’t deserve to get a bad rap. Even though we both made our Test debuts in 2004, him and I are in two completely different boats. He is married with children and I only have dogs. Family time is a big pull for him right now. We spend on average 220 days of the year out of the country. It’s a long time to be away from your family especially when your children are growing up,” the Proteas pacer told Sport24.

    ABD had cited unbearable pressure as a reason for retirement.

    ABD had cited unbearable pressure as a reason for retirement.

    While he lauded de Villiers’ commitment to the South African cause, Steyn believes that the country has enough young talent in the pipeline to make up for his absence.

    “The pleasing aspect is the Proteas have managed to win without him. It’s nice that the circle (of talent) is getting bigger and there is hope for the future. Calling time on his international career has also given AB time to recover from a physical point of view. His back had been giving him trouble for so many years. Through sheer pride of representing South Africa he pushed on,” Steyn said.

    Having retired from international cricket, de Villiers will continue to participate in the IPL where he is contracted to the Royal Challengers Bangalore and other franchise T20 leagues around the globe.

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