De Villiers' pain about World Cup 2015 defeat, said this about retirement

AB De Villiers' pain about World Cup 2015 defeat

Former South African captain AB de Villiers has said that the 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat against New Zealand had broken him for almost a year and his decision to abruptly retire from international cricket Was a big role.

South Africa lost to New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup rain-affected semi-final by 4 wickets against New Zealand on the basis of Duckworth Lewis rules. De Villiers admitted that he had to overcome the shock of this defeat.

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De Villiers told Harsha Bhogle, 'It broke me but I kept playing, I tried everything possible, tried to stay connected with cricket. I was batting very well. I still have great memories. '

De Villiers, 36, considered one of the best batsmen of all time, retired from his 14-year international career in 2018 while he was at the top of his game at that time.

De Villiers at the time, stating the reason for his retirement, said that he is now 'not left out' and he is 'feeling tired'. However, the former captain said that the defeat against New Zealand played a big role in his decision.

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De Villiers, who scored 8,765 runs in 114 Tests for South Africa and 9,577 runs in 228 ODIs, said, "From a personal perspective, yes, it played a big role. We lost the game that night and it was difficult for me to overcome that defeat that year. '

De Villiers said, "We had to start again but I was in such a situation that wait, I have not yet recovered from this World Cup defeat. This caused a lot of trouble. So yes, I am very sensitive and these kinds of things play a big role in how I feel. '

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The South African team could never perform as expected in the World Cup and had to face disappointment in the 1992 and 1999 editions as well. De Villiers said that he had to contend with the 2015 defeat for a year and was sorry that he could not openly express his feelings.