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Say it ain't so! AB de Villiers ruled out of Australian tour

AB de Villiers surely ranks amongst the deadliest T20 cricketers in the world. (AP Photo/Theron Kirkman)
27th September, 2016
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Australian cricket fans keen on seeing an enthralling series against South Africa have been dealt a blow with the news that Proteas skipper AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the tour.

De Villiers has been battling an elbow injury for some months now, and has decided to have surgery to have him fully fit for future tours.

Unfortunately for Australian fans, the recovery time for the operation is expected to be between eight and ten weeks, meaning de Villiers will miss the upcoming ODI series in South Africa against Australia as well as the three-Test series in Australia.

That Test series will include the Proteas’ first day-night Test, to be held in Adelaide starting on November 24.

“AB has failed to come through his fitness test this morning,” South Africa’s team manager, Mohammad Moosajee, said. “Although the physio strapped his elbow while he was batting and he did have some relief with some shots, the elbow pain has not gone away completely.

“This morning, he had a couple of throwdowns. The elbow was strapped and he had some symptom relief. He probably felt about 80 per cent better than without the strapping. But knowing AB, the complete cricketer that he is, he wants to make sure none of his shots are restricted. With that in mind, we decided on surgery and to give him adequate time to recover so he doesn’t hamper his career going forward.”

The news puts a major dampener on what was shaping up as a massive summer of cricket, with two day-night Tests against two of cricket’s premier sides, South Africa and Pakistan.

De Villiers has delivered a number of astounding performances in Australia, including a marathon 33 off 220 balls which helped the Proteas to a famous draw in the 2012 Adelaide Test and a blistering 162 not out off just 66 balls against the West Indies in last year’s Cricket World Cup.

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With de Villiers out of the team, fellow batsman Faf du Plessis will lead the side on the ODI series and is expected to take the reins for the Test tour.

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