Shocking revelation: AB de Villiers played final two years of career with a detached retina

AB de Villiers, in an exclusive interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly, disclosed that he played the final two years of his cricketing career with a detached retina. The cricket legend, who retired from international cricket in May 2018, continued to participate in franchise-based T20 leagues, notably representing Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Despite speculation about a potential international comeback, especially during the 2019 World Cup, de Villiers adhered to his decision to retire. Reflecting on his eye injury, sustained shortly before retiring, he shared, “My youngster accidentally kicked me on my eye with his heel. I started really losing vision in the right eye. When I got the surgery done, the doctor actually asked me, ‘How in the world did you play cricket like this?’. Luckily, my left eye did a decent job for the last two years of my career.”

Addressing the question of why he didn't reconsider his international retirement, de Villiers attributed it partly to the impact of Covid. He expressed the lingering effect of the 2015 World Cup loss and a sense of detachment from the team culture upon his return. De Villiers confessed, “I often found myself thinking, I don’t know, eh? Could this be the end of my career? I didn’t even really want to play IPL or anything else. I got away from everything in 2018 and then decided to push one more time with a bit of Test cricket, to try and beat India and Australia over here, and then I’ll call it. I didn’t want any spotlight on me. I just wanted to say, ‘I had a great time, thank you very much’.”