AB de Villiers is already talking to key figures in South African cricket to explore the possibility of coming out of retirement for next year's T20 World Cup, captain Faf du Plessis has confirmed., ESPN reports
"People want AB to play and I am no different," du Plessis said after his Paarl Rocks team beat the Tshwane Spartans - coached by Boucher with de Villiers in the line-up - in the Mzansi Super League final on Monday night. "Those conversations have been happening for two or three months already: what does it look like, how does it look over the next year, and that's where it starts."
"It was the dark ages last week and there's a little bit of light this week and that's very good. It's very important, it will help the dressing room and even the supporters supporting the team"
"T20 cricket is a different beast, it's not a lot of time away from home. If you are a full campaigner, you have to really get stuck in and spend a lot of time on the road," du Plessis said. "Test cricket now is the most important thing but also the T20 World Cup is not too far away and there isn't a lot - I reckon 20 T20s over the season - which won't be that hard on one to do that. Those conversations have already taken place and will continue to before the next T20 series starts."
"I've really enjoyed this campaign. I've really enjoyed working with young guys, getting their heads in the right space and getting them to understand their games better," du Plessis said. "It's great that experienced those guys can talk and help younger players because it does fast track their careers."
"I'm still very motivated to captain in all three formats and that hasn't changed," du Plessis said, while recognising that the leadership needs to be shared as the end of his career looms. "It is also important to use other captains in this process over the next year when there is an opportunity to use guys. There will be a time that someone else will need to take over and it is a great opportunity to start doing it in small series, it might be one-day cricket, it might be T20 cricket just to expose younger guys to learning."
"A lot can change in a week. We've seen that first-hand. It was the dark ages last week and there's a little bit of light this week and that's very good," he said. "It's very important, it will help the dressing room and even the supporters supporting the team. Everyone wants the team to do well, everyone wants to make sure we get the right people in the right positions. It's good that there is a bit of positivity around in and there's excitement in the air, myself included. I am very excited with the start of this new journey."
