AB de Villiers breaks his silence on his return to Indian T20 League next year

South African legendary cricketer, AB de Villiers has made big claims on his return to the Indian T20 League. In a Twitter space hosted by the cricketer himself, he announced that he will return in the next edition of the Indian T20 League but not as a player. De Villiers stated that he will be there to thank the fans for their support and apologized to all the fans for not winning the trophy for them.

“I will return to Chinnaswamy next year, not for playing but to apologise all the fans for not winning trophy and thank them for the support over a decade,” De Villiers was heard saying in a Twitter space hosted by the man himself on Monday.

“I am not playing cricket again due to right side eye surgery,” he further added.

De Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of the game after the 2021 edition of the Indian T20 League. AB de Villiers wasn’t part of the team last year. Under the captain of Faf du Plessis, Bangalore qualified for the playoffs but, once again, failed to clinch the trophy.

Meanwhile, the Indian T20 League is all set to get back to its old format of home and away from the next edition onwards. As per reports, the auction for the 16th edition is slated to take place on 16th December 2022.

“The next season of men’s IPL will also go back to the home and away format with all ten teams playing their home matches at their designated venues,” read a Sourav Ganguly’s note to state units, last month.

Two new franchises marked their debut last year. Playing their first season, both Gujarat and Lucknow went on to reach the qualifiers. Led by Hardik Pandya, Gujarat made history as they lifted the title after beating Rajasthan in the final. Two of the most successful franchises, Chennai and Mumbai both finished at the bottom half of the points table.