AB de Villiers With No trophy: AB de Villiers recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He ended his career without winning any major trophy. Here are 5 reasons why it never happened!
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers. This name has been synonymous with so many game-changing moments over the last decade or so. The man will go down as one of the greatest batters of our generation.
From being involved in full-day blockathons to save a Test, to scoring a 44-ball 149 when the team needed to score some quick runs, he could do it all. However, at both international as well as franchise cricket level, he never managed to win a trophy.
Why was that the case with him? We explore 5 reasons behind ABD not managing to win a single trophy in his career.
Also Read:Â Top 5 Most Double Centuries in a Calendar Year in Tests| Check Out Names
#5 – The “Chokers” Tag at South Africa
The Proteas haven’t been in the knockouts of an ICC tournament for quite some time now. However, in 2000s and early 2010s, they used to be a regular feature there.
And every time they did make the knockouts, they inexplicably collapsed and used to lose from winning positions!
This caused not just ABD, but a whole generation of South African greats to end their careers without any trophies.
#4 – That Missed Chance in 2015
When ABD looks back at missed opportunities in his career, this will rate at the top of his list. The semifinal of the ODI World Cup in 2015 against New Zealand. There were a host of missed chances in the field by the Proteas that night, with the most conclusive one coming from the captain himself.
de Villiers missed a chance to run Corey Anderson out when him and Grant Elliott were threatening to take the game away. This proved costly as the two then added 48 runs after that missed chance, which went a long way in the Kiwis winning that game and knocking the Proteas out.
#3 – Constant tussles between CSA and players
Cricket South Africa (CSA) is notorious for not handling its players in the best of ways. ABD retired prematurely from international cricket in 2018, citing fatigue as the reason.
However, he did want to rejoin the South African team before the 2019 ODI World Cup. But CSA did not consider his application to once again play for the Proteas. Any other cricket board would happily take a player of ABD’s stature and caliber back into their squad.
AB De Villiers With No Trophy
However, CSA had other ideas. Even as recently as just before the 2021 T20 World Cup, de Villiers showed some intentions to the CSA to play for the Proteas one final time. But it again didn’t materialize for reasons unknown.
Also Read:Â Top 5 Openers with the Most 50+ Scores in T20Is Cricket| Check Out Names
South Africa missed out on a semifinal berth only on net run-rate, to Australia who became eventual champions. One can only imagine how far South Africa could have gone had ABD played!
#2 – The IPL 2009 semifinal with DD
Not a lot of people can recall this, but before AB became a legend at RCB, he was part of the Delhi Daredevils.
DD were on a roll that season, topping the points table with 10 wins and storming into the semis against a Deccan Chargers side that only made it on net run-rate.
What happened next was truly sensational as DC captain Adam Gilchrist simply blew Delhi away. He scored a match-winning 85 off just 35 balls as DC knocked DD off their perch to reach the final.
A helpless ABD looked on as he missed out on an opportunity to taste IPL success early in his career.
#1 – The IPL 2016 final with RCB
This will sting ABD, Kohli and RCB fans a lot. It was the perfect occasion for the men in red and black. The final took place at the Chinnaswamy, with the crowd fully behind RCB.
Chasing a 200+ target, the openers Kohli and Gayle had already shaved off more than half the target in 10 overs. But then a batting collapse happened, and SRH just squeezed the RCB batters to eke a win out of an unlikely situation.
Also Read:Â Top 5 Indian Players With the Most Runs in T20 World Cups
Out of all his seasons at RCB, we feel that this was his best chance to win a trophy. But a batting collapse and the inability to handle pressure at the time when it mattered the most, combined together to ensure ABD remained trophyless in his illustrious career.
So these are the 5 reasons why ABD could never win a trophy in international cricket!
