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AB de Villiers' ‘stop worrying about team selection’ tweet stands out after India's win against England at The Oval
The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Shane Warne, Michael Vaughan, Virender Sehwag all hailed India’s performance on Day 5 at The Oval but former South Africa captain AB de Villiers’ tweet stood out for its different tone.
Cricketers, both current and former, flooded Twitter with their congratulatory messages for the Virat Kohli-led Indian side after their coming from behind 157-run victory against England in the fourth Test. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Shane Warne, Michael Vaughan, Virender Sehwag all hailed India’s performance on Day 5 at The Oval but former South Africa captain AB de Villiers’ tweet stood out for its different tone.
De Villiers, while congratulating both India and England captains Virat Kohli and Joe Root for playing their part in preparing the best ‘ad’ for the longest format of the game, also shared an important message for the fans of the game.
The legendary cricketer said fans of Test cricket should enjoy the competition, skill and passion of the players on the field instead of fretting over team selection and ‘other nonsense.’
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"As “spectators” of Test Cricket, just stop worrying about team selection and other nonsense and start appreciating the competition, passion, skill and patriotism unfolding in front of your eyes. You’re missing a good game!," de Villiers tweeted.
"Well played India, well Captained @imVkohli and amazing skill and guts from a few individuals. Also well played @root66 & England! Great ad for our beautiful game! Excited for the finale," he added.
The 37-year-old, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, arrived in the UAE for the second phase of the IPL on Monday.
India beat England by 157 runs after their bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav bowled the hosts out for 210 on Day 5. But right through the Test match, India’s decision of not picking premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in their XI dominated the discussions.
De Villiers did not directly name Ashwin or India’s selection but his tweet had enough indications towards the same.
Great to be back at RCB, says de Villiers
De Villiers will turn up for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the remainder of IPL 2021. The lucrative league, which was suspended in May due to increasing number of Covid-19 cases in India and within the IPL bio bubble, will resume from September 19 in the UAE.
"It's great to be back, looking forward to seeing everyone again. Some of the guys are in the UK but they'll be joining us soon. We has a good start to the tournament so we have got a lot of momentum to build on. I'm just looking forward to settle in and seeing everyone again," de villiers said in a video posted by RCB.
"Been playing around with the guys a bit , I'm also feeling like a young kid ready to go again, very excited to play cricket again.
RCB are currently placed third in the table with 10 points from seven outings. The Kohli-led side will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabu on September 20.
"I'm just getting ready for the IPL, I had a couple of hiccups here and there, a few things that got in the way that I had to overcome but I'm trying to get fit, hitting some balls and then now for some isolation and then we get going again," de Villiers added.
