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Cape Town - Former Proteas star batsman AB de Villiers has accepted some of the negative response coming from his retirement that stunned the cricketing world.
De Villiers announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday.
READ: Ouch … how AB will be missed at CWC '19
The 34-year-old cited fatigue and stated that it was the "right time" to call time on his 14-year international cricket career.
The decision comes as a massive blow to the Proteas, who would have been counting on De Villiers at next year's World Cup in May in England.
Sport24's Lloyd Burnard spoke to Cricket South Africa's acting CEO Thabang Moroe, where he revealed that both he and Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis were surprised to learn over De Villiers sudden retirement.
"I was shocked, and I didn't know how to react to it other than to tell him that I respect his decision," Moroe told Sport24.
READ: CSA: What more could we have done to keep AB?
De Villiers knew that his decision to leave the Proteas side would not go down well.
"I wasn't expecting a positive response, to be honest. It was a really tough decision - I've been struggling with it for a while, and I'm just glad we got through it," De Villiers told IOL.co.za.
"Now it's a bit of family time, and a bit of time at home - I can't wait, hey."
De Villiers has expressed his determination to play domestically for the Titans.
"So, I had to mention that in my statement that I might still be available to play some games for the Titans. But other than that, I have absolutely no plans for the rest of the year. Just want to spend some time with my family," added De Villiers.
Since appearing on the international stage in 2004, De Villiers scored 8 765 runs in 114 Tests with 22 centuries (average 50.66), 9 577 runs in 228 ODIs with 25 centuries and 1 672 runs in 78 T20Is with 10 half-centuries.
