Rassie opens up on AB storm
Proteas middle-order batsman Rassie van der Dussen has opened up on the AB De Villiers media storm which came to light last week.
The 30-year-old toiled in domestic cricket for over a decade before he got his first chance on the international scene. That came in the home series against Pakistan earlier this year. He made an instant impact in the Proteas ODI side, with an average of 66,57 in 13 games.
De Villiers retirement, effectively opened up a spot in the batting unit for van der Dussen
“Had he not retired it, it definitely would have influenced me directly,” Van der Dussen said to the South African press at the Proteas team hotel in Cardiff on Thursday.
“You can't, on the day before, when the squad has been working for longer than a year, come and say you want to make a comeback now.”
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“It would have set a difficult precedent, not necessarily a wrong one because it is still AB, he is still one of the best batsmen in the world. I just think it was maybe handled not in the correct way from his side,” Van der Dussen said.
He believes it was managed well by the national selection panel headed by Linda Zondi and Proteas coach, Ottis Gibson.
"I believe that Ottis and Faf gave him opportunities to manage his workloads going into the World Cup because they wanted him to play.”
"He had a fair chance to manage that and he said 'no', and that he was happy to retire, and that's fair enough. Faf accepted it and Ottis accepted it and they stood by it,” Van der Dussen concluded.
The Proteas face Afghanistan this Saturday in a day-night match at the Sophia Gardens Stadium.
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