Durban: The Talismanic AB de Villiers wants to reduce his workload to keep himself fresh after several years of fulfilling a punishing international schedule.

The 31-year-old De Villiers is regarded as the backbone of the South African batting, but the wicketkeeper-batsman plans to cut back on his participation in all forms of the game.

“There are a lot of rumours flying around. But for the last two or three years, the only talk I’ve been dealing with is about keeping myself fresh and having a bit of rest here and there,” De Villiers said on Monday after an Afrikaans-language newspaper claimed he was retiring from international cricket.

“The most important thing for me is to just enjoy my cricket. Moving forward, it’s important to look at my schedule.  “That’s the talk in the camp, maybe for me not to play all kinds of cricket,” he said in a television interview before the start of the third day’s play of the ongoing first Test against England at Kingsmead.

“If I play all the IPL games, I do get tired towards the end of the season and so, that’s the only thing I’ve been talking about over last while. I need to keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. 

“I love representing my country and nothing has changed.”

De Villiers’ workload increased with his selection as a wicketkeeper in the ongoing Test series against England to allow for an extra batsman in the line-up. He had previously given up the gloves to concentrate on his batting.

De Villiers, who scored 49 against England in the first innings of this Test on Sunday, averages 51.39 in the longer format, 54.21 in one-day Internationals and 31.15 in Twenty20 Internationals, in which he is seen as a flamboyant entertainer with an astonishing array of strokes.                              

(Reuters)