WHEN A.B. de Villiers announced his retirement with immediate effect from all forms of international cricket on May 23 in a one-minute video clip, it sent shockwaves instantly across the cricketing fraternity. For someone who has made the world stand still on many occasions with merely a bat in his hand, the announcement was unexpected yet very typical of ABD in many ways. He went out in the middle, did whatever he wanted to do, and walked back, leaving the fans stunned, as if nothing happened.

As world cricket bids farewell to one of its modern-day great players, one cannot help but question the timing of De Villiers’ retirement especially with the World Cup 2019 only 12 months away. And although he owes nothing to world cricket, in fact, it’s the other way round, him leaving the Proteas at this stage is a huge blow to their World Cup preparations.

Averaging 50.66 with the bat in 114 Tests, 53.50 in 228 ODIs and 26.12 in 78 T20s is no easy feat and when you add to it the amount of runs that he has saved with his athletic fielding, you realise that he has done more to promote the game of cricket among the youngsters than the game’s governing body, the ICC.

It is because of people like De Villiers that children pick up bats and go out in the park to have a go at the ball and want to be noticed for their fielding efforts. The chutzpah that De Villiers possesses is unmatchable. So often has he won the games for his side with his freakish batting skills that every time he walked out to bat, him getting dismissed cheaply would be news for the media-men and not him scoring a blistering 50 or 100.

Only De Villiers can score 33 off 220 deliveries on the last day of a test match to deny Australia a certain victory and only he can outdo himself by scoring the fastest 100 of all time off 31 balls against West Indies. With De Villiers, it’s all too cliché, but there really was no method to his madness.

For instance, who in his right mind would get down on one knee against a raging Dale Steyn, play the full length delivery from the sixth-stump line and smash him for a four over fine leg? Or who would ever forget his heroic 106 n.o. in an epic chase of 414 against Australia at Perth? Or, better yet, go on and try selling someone the idea of a batsman walking out to the middle in the 39th over of an ODI game and walking back to the pavilion in the 49th over with 149 runs against his name. It would be a serious understatement to say that he has redefined the modern-day batting. To be fair to De Villiers, he’s invented it.

It was the year 2008 that changed the perception of him from a normal middle-order batsman to a match-winner. He scored four match-winning test centuries that year against West Indies, England, India and Australia. And, perhaps, the toughest of them all was his century against the Aussies that set the tone for the rest of the series that South Africa would eventually go on to win.

On his day, De Villiers was the bowlers’ worst nightmare. So much impact did he have on the game that even with Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli on his side (Royal Challengers Bangalore), it was him who finished the job far too often than them. It was his hand-eye coordination that made him different from the rest. No matter at what pace did the bowler bowl at him, he would still find all the time in the world to play the ball wherever he wanted to.

Even while facing express pace bowlers on many occasions, De Villiers did what he did best, absolutely smoked them for maximums on deliveries that if he had left otherwise, would have been counted as extras. Known as a 360-degree batsman, it was perhaps, De Villiers’ ability to fearlessly play shots anywhere in the ground that made him the most feared batsman for the opposition. And much to the surprise of everyone, he didn’t always have those shots in his arsenal. He took the game seriously, worked hard on it and got even better at it than he was ever before.

He is loved by millions all over the world, but what has made him such a lovable person on and the off the field is not just limited to his cricketing abilities. He remained humble in victories and gracious in defeats. And although his stint as the South African captain isn’t as impressive as his own batting records, nobody can question the love he had for the game of cricket and his national side.

De Villiers has seen the best and worst of cricket. He has won matches from the jaws of defeats and lost games that made millions cry the world over. Nobody will ever forget him breaking down in tears after losing the gut-wrenching semifinal to New Zealand in the World Cup 2015.

“It would be wrong of me to choose when and where and which format to play for South Africa. It’s everything or nothing,” said De Villiers in his video clip. Perhaps, our youngsters too can learn a thing or two from someone like De Villiers who has got nothing to prove to anyone and yet chooses to play all formats or nothing instead of looking to prolong his career in one at the expense of the other.

At age 34, one would wonder that he has still got good 3-4 years of cricket left in him, but not De Villiers. He knows that he is ‘running out of gas’ and he knows when to call it a day. And unlike many legends of the game, he has quit on his own terms. It is, as if, perhaps, even in his retirement De Villiers has taught an important lesson to everyone. Know when to walk out of something even if you are bloody good at it. Being a cricket tragic, it hurts when one of your favourite players leaves the game but for what it’s worth, it has been an absolute pleasure to watch De Villiers play.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2018