JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Tuesday announced that former Proteas cricketer AB de Villiers will not be coming out of retirement as the batsman has decided “once and for all” that his decision to retire remains final.
“Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all, that his retirement will remain final,” CSA said in an official statement. CSA on Tuesday also announced a 19-man Test squad that will be led by Dean Elgar in his first outing as captain since his permanent appointment in early March and the Temba Bavuma-led 20-man white-ball squad to take on West Indies and Ireland.
Off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen will join the Proteas Test squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia in June. The 27-year-old from Durban is joined by his former South Africa under-19 teammate, Lizaad Williams, who has also received his first call-up to the national Test team.
According to CSA, the National Selection Panel has put an emphasis on firming up the spin-bowling department in preparation for the slow nature of the wickets in the Caribbean.
Subrayen will be accompanied by Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and George Linde for the team’s first bilateral tour to the region in 11 years, plus the part-time spin options of the skipper himself as well as Aiden Markram.
Other uncapped selections include Kyle Verreynne, Keegan Petersen, Sarel Erwee and Marco Jansen. The Proteas are scheduled to arrive in St. Lucia on June 1.
“This is a massive outing for the Proteas. We have a fully fit team with an exciting balance of youth and experience. The Selection Panel is confident that it has put together an exciting and excited, young group of cricketers that will be well led by Dean (Elgar) and Temba (Bavuma),” said Victor Mpitsang, CSA Convenor of Selectors.
“The Caribbean is well-known for its low and slow wickets and we have ensured that we have chosen the personnel needed for every eventuality on this very important excursion. While there aren’t any (ICC World Test Championship) points to play for, it is still of vital importance for South Africa to produce winning results through a steadily growing and high-performing cricket pipeline,” he further said.
“The historic tour to Ireland is crucial for points towards our qualification for the 2023 Cricket World Cup and preparation for the T20 World Cup later this year. This is the start of our road to these trophies and every tour will see us field our absolute best sides,” Mpitsang added.