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AB's Test future remains uncertain

Johannesburg – AB de Villiers' Test future remains uncertain.

The 32-year-old has not played red ball cricket for South Africa since last January’s home series against England.

In that series, after he had been appointed full time Test captain, De Villiers spoke about his future in the game and how he needed to seriously consider how much cricket he should be playing.

An elbow injury then hampered his year and he has been out of action in all formats since July.

He is now set to make his return to the international stage in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Cape Town this month.

If that all goes well, as it is expected to, then De Villiers will captain the Proteas in their five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.

But there is still no clarity on whether or not De Villiers will form part of the South African Test squad that does battle in New Zealand in March.

And, after the Proteas walloped Sri Lanka in the third Test at the Wanderers on Saturday, none of captain Faf du Plessis, coach Russell Domingo or team manager Dr. Mohammed Moosajee could provide any clarity either.

"I’m not sure, that’s my honest answer," Du Plessis said.

"I’m not sure how AB will feel in terms of Test cricket. We’re excited to have him back into the ODI team. I’m hoping that he decides to play for us. He’s obviously a world class batter and as a captain I’d love to have him as a leader in our team. He’s a fantastic cricketer.

"It’s just the fact that he hasn’t played for a while so we haven’t had conversations with him with that. When the ODIs start we’ll see what his plans are."

Domingo was also uncertain.

"We need to sit down with him and plan his future," he said.

"AB has got to make that decision, I can't decide on whether he plays or not.

"When I say that, I mean AB has got to make the decision about whether he is available and the selectors have got to make the decision whether he plays. He has obviously got to make some decision about his future in cricket." 

Moosajee confirmed that De Villiers was good to go from a fitness perspective. He will be playing in an amateur game for Northerns on January 21 as final confirmation that he is ready to return.

But, in terms of Test cricket, Moosajee could also not provide any answers.

“He (De Villiers) needs to come back and sit and see where he fits in in all forms of cricket and when he joins us for the ODI series all those conversations will take place,” he said.

Du Plessis added that he had no problem handing the ODI captaincy back over to De Villiers.

"Not at all, not with AB," said Du Plessis.

"That will be a very easy transition.

"He will be raring to go again and then it’s important for us as a group to sit down and discuss the things that have been working well for this side over the last six months and he’ll be quick to buy into that."

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