‘Fooled myself that I could keep going through injury’ – de Villiers

AB de Villiers has admitted injuries have snuck up on him “like a thief in the night” but he remains committed to playing international cricket and building the South African culture as the team continues to go through transition. De Villiers will sit out the two-Test series against New Zealand with an elbow problem – while also nursing several other niggles – but was part of the squad’s pre-season camp where they thrashed out goals for the future.

“I have five to six niggles at the moment, including the shoulder that everybody knows about which started about eight months ago. I have been hanging in there. I did fool myself a bit in thinking that I could just keep going and keep going and it has sort of caught up with me a bit,” de Villiers said at the launch of the series in Durban. “It’s a big shame that I am losing out a few Test matches. Unfortunately it’s happened that way. It caught me like a thief in the night. This was not part of the plan.”

De Villiers admitted playing “a lot of cricket in all three formats all over the world definitely played a role” in him being sidelined but has dismissed suggestions that he may consider retirement from some formats in order to manage his workload. Rumours of de Villiers hanging up his boots, which dominated last summer, have resurfaced with the imminent release of his autobiography next month but de Villiers is targeting an October comeback.

“I love playing for my country and I would love to play as long as I can. You’ve got to look after your …

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