Game needs you back in international arena: Ravi Shastri tells de Villiers

Indian men's cricket team coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday said that the international game needs former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers to come out of retirement.

Indian men's cricket team coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday said that the international game needs former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers to come out of retirement. His remark came as RCB defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 82 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.

De Villiers came out to bat with RCB at 94/2 and scored 73 runs to take the side's total to 194/2. The Proteas batsman was named Man of the Match for this innings. "Now, that the penny has dropped. What one saw last night was unreal. And the feeling is the same waking up. @ABdeVilliers17, the game in these trying times or otherwise needs you back in the international arena and out of retirement. The game will be better off #RCBvKKR #IPL2020," Shastri tweeted.

The 36-year-old had announced his retirement from international cricket on May 23, 2018. However, he tried to stage a comeback in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 but was not able to reach an agreement with the Cricket South Africa (CSA) management. While chasing 195, the Dinesh Karthik-led KKR was restricted to 112/9. Chris Morris and Washington Sundar scalped two wickets each. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled four overs conceding just 12 runs. He also managed to bag the wicket of KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik.

Batting first, RCB posted a total of 194/2 in the allotted twenty overs. AB de Villiers played a knock of 73 runs from just 33 balls with the help of five 4s and six 6s. Kohli and de Villiers shared an unbeaten partnership of 100 runs. For KKR, Varun Chakravarthy was the most economical bowler as he finished his four overs with figures of 0-25. RCB scored 83 runs in the last five overs of their innings.

RCB will next take on Kings XI Punjab on October 15 while KKR will lock horns with Mumbai Indians on October 16. RCB is currently at the third position in the points table while KKR is in the fourth place. (ANI)

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