Star batsman AB de Villiers’ announcement that he is retiring from international cricket in 2018 shocked South Africa, who suddenly had to scamper to replace him with just a year left for the 50-over World Cup in 2019. Faf du Plessis, then the South Africa captain, knew they “desperately” needed de Villiers in the team, but has revealed why he did not try to convince his close friend to change his mind or make a comeback for the national team.

“When AB left, it was really tough for me, because I depended a lot on him, as a friend, and obviously as the best player in the team; we needed his skills,” du Plessis said in conversation with India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

“So that conversation was … when he said that to me, said he was done, he was finished with international cricket, as a friend, my first instinct was, ‘I’m here for you, and I’ll support you, if you feel like you’re at the end of your career and you don’t want to do it anymore, then that’s okay – I support that decision 100 per cent’,” he said.

“As a captain, I was like – ‘how do we move forward without AB, how do we get the same performances?’ But the friend in me trumped the captain in me,” he said.

“And I just said, ‘We’re going to miss you, are you sure?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I am 100 per cent sure, I don’t want to play international cricket anymore. I don’t have the drive to do it anymore. So I am stopping.'”

“I respected that immediately and left it there. I never ever after that tried to convince him again, because I respected what he said. Even at times when we desperately needed him,” du Plessis told Ashwin in their chat.

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AB de Villiers was in talks with the South Africa team management over a return to the team ahead of the 2020 T20 World Cup, but with the tournament postponed and the next T20 World Cup in 2021, doubts have been cast on his potential international comeback.

Both du Plessis and de Villiers will be seen in action in the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will begin on September 2019.