IPL 2021: 'Waiting to talk to Mark Boucher,' AB de Villiers open to coming out of retirement ahead of T20 World Cup

AB de Villiers said he is open to coming out of retirement and play for South Africa again ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup if there is a space for him in the national team. De Villiers' comments came after his match-winning half-century that helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Sunday.

De Villiers, who was named the Player of the Match, smashed 76 off 34 balls, including three sixes and nine fours. KKR leaked 56 runs in the final five overs that allowed RCB to post 204 for 4 in 20 overs. In reply to that, Eoin Morgan's side fell short by 38 runs.

In an interview after the game, de Villiers said that he will have a chat with South Africa's head coach Mark Boucher after the IPL 2021. It is understood that de Villiers and the South African cricket team's management have already spoken about the possibility of his return to the national side for the T20 World Cup, which was postponed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, Boucher said that he has had a word with de Villiers regarding his return to the Proteas national side. The former skipper shocked the cricketing world by announcing his international retirement in 2018.

On being asked about his possible return to international cricket, de Villiers replied," If there's no space for me, then so be it. I haven't had a chat with Boucher yet. But we are lined up to have a chat somewhere during the IPL. But yes, we have been talking about it. He asked me last year if I would be interested. I said 'absolutely'.

Come at the end of the IPL, we have a look at where we are with regards to my form, my fitness. Also, the situation with regards to his team as he has to get the best 15, look at the guys who have been performing well in the recent past. If there is no space for me, then so be it. If I can slot in there, it would be fantastic if all these things fall into place. I am waiting to hear from Boucher towards the end of the IPL. Then we will plan accordingly," de Villiers added further.

De Villiers, who received the Man of the Match award on Sunday, now holds the record of winning the most number of Man of the Match awards in the league – 23, one more than Gayle. Next on the list is Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma with 18 Man of the Match awards, ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captains David Warner and MS Dhoni (17 each).

Only Gayle (352) has struck more sixes than de Villiers (240) in the history of the Indian T20 league.

The 37-year-old de Villiers is some 20-odd runs away from becoming only the sixth batsman in the IPL to score 5,000 or more runs.