'Started losing…': AB de Villiers reveals shocking reason behind early international retirement

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has unveiled shocking revelations about the reasons behind his early exit from international cricket, disclosing that he played his final years with a detached retina. Despite officially retiring from international cricket in 2018, the cricket icon continued to showcase his talent in franchise-based T20 leagues, notably with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. However, behind the scenes, de Villiers faced a formidable challenge: a detached retina that cast a shadow over his last two years in the sport.

“My youngster accidentally kicked me in the eye with his heel. I began losing vision in the right eye. When I underwent surgery, the doctor asked me, ‘How in the world did you play cricket like this?’. Fortunately, my left eye managed to hold up during the last two years of my career,” AB de Villiers revealed to Wisden Cricket Monthly.

De Villiers candidly opened up about the eye injury he sustained before retiring. He emphasized that in the two years leading up to his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2021, the batsman, heavily reliant on hand-eye coordination and reflexes, operated in the dark.

‘Covid certainly played a role; there’s no doubt about it. From an international perspective, the 2015 World Cup hurt big time. It took me a while to get over that, and then, when I got back into the side and was ready to commit, I didn’t feel the same culture that I really needed at that time’.

The prospect of a comeback at the 2019 World Cup stirred speculation, fueled by rumors suggesting de Villiers’s interest in rejoining the national team after his 2018 retirement. However, Cricket South Africa’s offer, extended just a day before the squad announcement for the tournament, remained unanswered. The cricket board opted to stick with a team that had seamlessly gelled over the previous two years.

‘I often found myself thinking, I don’t know, eh? Could this be the end of my career? I didn’t even really want to play IPL or anything else. I got away from everything in 2018 and then decided to push one more time with a bit of Test cricket, to try and beat India and Australia over here, and then I’ll call it. I didn’t want any spotlight on me. I just wanted to say, ‘I had a great time, thank you very much’.

AB de Villiers had established himself as one of the game’s premier batsmen, amassing 8765 runs in 114 Tests and 9577 runs in 228 One-Day Internationals.