AB de Villiers on BWC: I’ll Come Back in 2023 World Cup if MS Dhoni is Still Around | WATCH VIDEO

AB de Villiers also speaks of his friendship with India skipper Virat Kohli during the course of the interview.

Former South African legend AB de Villiers has made a big statement about his coming out of retirement. In the latest episode of ‘Breakfast With Champions’, the South African claimed that he would make a comeback to international cricket only if MS Dhoni is still around. Dhoni is 38 and is about to play in the upcoming World Cup. He also spoke of his close bond with India captain Virat Kohli. The two play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. It was host Gaurav Kapur who hurled the question about AB de Villiers come back.

“How old will I be (in 2023)? 39! I’ll come back if MS (Dhoni) is still around (laughs). If I’m still good enough, who knows eh? I was keen to play the World Cup (2019) but I retired, so it was a very sensitive situation. For the last 3 years of my career, I was labeled as a guy who was picking and choosing when I was playing and when not.

“So I got quite a lot of criticism from back home which also played a role in me retiring. And it was difficult for me to then go: ‘Hey, but I’ll still play the World Cup’. You know, it’s the picking and choosing thing again. And it’s quite arrogant to do something like that. But as they say, you can’t have your bread buttered on both sides,” said de Villiers.

About Kohli, he admitted it is the small things that give him joy, despite being in the limelight during most times. He also spoke about the large heart that Kohli has, for example, if AB ever says the Indian captain about a pair of shoes he likes. The next moment Kohli will present it.

The South African has amassed 8765 runs in 114 Tests and 9577 runs in 228 ODIs for South Africa, he decided to call it a day in May 2018 after back-to-back Test series wins over visitors India and Australia. He still continues to play in many T20 leagues around the world.