De Villiers may be forced to become a specialist batsman once again
South Africa coach Gary Kirsten has revealed that batsman AB de Villiers’ future as ODI wicketkeeper is uncertain after he recently hung up the gloves and admitted to being overburdened.
As of right now, Kirsten has not revealed anything about who will replace de Villiers, although Quinton de Kock seems to be the frontrunner.
“In terms of our situation with AB, it’s more exploratory,” Kirsten said. “We are going through a phase of exploring and understanding his keeping. We haven’t closed the door on whether he will become our one-day keeper.”
De Villiers has been South Africa’s keeper in all three formats after veteran Mark Boucher was forced to retire prematurely when suffering a freak eye injury in a warm-up match against Somerset last year.
However, 20-year-old de Kock replaced de Villiers behind the stumps for the recently concluded limited overs series against New Zealand.
“The decision not to keep in this one-day series was a very specific decision which wasn’t his own,” Kirsten explained. “He is not making his own decisions. There is a process we go through in the team. Individuals don’t just stand up and make their own calls. We felt that it might be a good idea for this series specifically that AB had an opportunity to focus on his captaincy. He is a young captain and there is a lot to do on the field.”
Kirsten also expressed his disappointment at de Villiers after he was banned for two matches during the New Zealand series due to a slow over rate and added that the flamboyant batsman might actually benefit from being out in the field rather than behind the stumps.
“I had a concern right from the outset when I spoke to the selectors that doing the job of batting at No. 4, captaining and keeping was going to be really tough on him,” Kirsten said. “He was happy to do it. He is always happy to do it. I just felt I would like to see him focus on his captaincy so it is really unfortunate what has unfolded where he is missing two games and is not able to gain more experience in his captaincy.”
However, Kirsten also hinted that de Villiers’ time as keeper of the Test squad may be limited as reinforcements have been brought in to ensure that he does not aggravate an old back injury.
“We are thinking where we want to go long-term,” Kirsten said. “If you look at the Test team: it’s foolproof in many ways although we have brought in a lot of new players. I don’t want to make rushed decisions.
“The one nice thing about AB not keeping is that it has given us the opportunity to explore another young talent in Quinton de Kock. He has done a good job behind the stumps and has shown real potential with the bat. There’s been a lot of talk about him and it’s nice that he has been given an opportunity at a higher level.”