Ex-South African captain AB de Villiers, widely regarded as one of the best batsmen in world cricket, has announced his retirement from international cricket.
The 34-year-old has been an ever-present within the Proteas national side for over a decade, but he took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce that he would be not be donning the green and gold jersey of South Africa in an international game again.
de Villiers will finish his international career with an astonishing record that has seen him play 114 Test matches, 228 one-day internationals and 78 Twenty20 games.
In Test matches he has scored 8768 runs for the Proteas at an average over 50, while in the shorter one-day format his average is a mind-boggling 53.50 at a strike rate of over 100, and in those 228 one-day matches he has amassed 9577 runs.
A talented sportsman, the man from Pretoria made his Test match debut as a 20-year-old in 2004 against England, where he opened with Graeme Smith, but he has become accustomed to be the middle order rock in the South African Test side, while his heroics have arguably been more lauded in the one-day game, as he has the ability to score all around the ground, and is one of the hottest properties in the shorter format.
He is currently plying his trade for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, but in the 34-year-old's message he was quick to state that he was not retiring for the money, but he was finding it tough to keep up with the busy schedule.
de Villiers said: "It's not about earning more somewhere else, it's about running out of gas, I've had my turn and, to be honest, I'm tired
"This is a tough decision. I've thought long and hard about it and I'd like to retire still playing decent cricket. It would not be right for me to pick and choose where, when and in what format I play for the Proteas. For me, in green and gold, it must be everything or nothing," added de Villiers.
Listen to his full international retirement video here:
