De Villiers retirement 'will remain final': South Africa

Cricket South Africa says AB de Villiers has decided against a return to international cricket and will not play at the Twenty20 World Cup scheduled to take place in India later this year.

De Villiers had been in talks with head coach Mark Boucher about a return to the limited-overs side following his retirement from all international formats in May 2018.

"Discussions with AB de Villiers have concluded with the batsman deciding once and for all that his retirement will remain final," CSA said when announcing their squads for series in the West Indies and Ireland over the next few months.

The 37-year-old remains one of the world's most dangerous short-form batters, and would be a highly sought after figure to make a return to Australia's KFC BBL after a stint with the Brisbane Heat during BBL09.

De Villiers was at his destructive best for the Royal Challengers Bangalore during this year's Indian Premier League, averaging over 50 and hitting at a strike-rate of 164.28, before the tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A return to international cricket, suggestions of which have swirled in the years since his retirement, would have added great experience to a struggling South African side that has under-performed in recent years.

A last-minute offer to make a comeback at the 2019 ODI World Cup was knocked back by the Proteas, with the batter instead plying his trade on the global T20 circuit.

The BBL is expected to hold an overseas player draft this season and de Villiers would likely be a top pick if he were to throw his hat in the ring.

Meanwhile, South Africa have included uncapped off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen and seamer Lizaad Williams in their squad for the two-Test series in the West Indies that starts on June 10.

They are part of a 19-man squad that will be led by new captain Dean Elgar, with Subrayen, 27, one of four frontline spin bowlers in the selection along with Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and George Linde.

Those matches will be followed by a five-match T20 series in the Caribbean, before the team travels to Ireland for three ODIs and three T20 matches between July 11-25.

"The team has been in a rebuilding phase for a while now but we are satisfied that the return on investment is going to show itself sooner rather than later," convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said in a statement.

"We have to trust the process that has been put in place and support our team while they find themselves and their way

Test squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Sarel Erwee, Beuran Hendricks, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Peterson, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams, Prenelan Subrayen, Marco Jansen.

T20I and ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj (only for Ireland), Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams.

- with Reuters