AB de Villiers to skip PSL 2020 citing 'workload management' as reason

Former South African captain AB de Villiers has opted out of the Pakistan Super League 2020. He has cited workload management as the reason for missing the PSL, which is all set to be played in Pakistan. de Villiers had turned out for the Lahore Qalandars last season and achieved a fair amount of success, before ruling himself out with a back injury in the final stages of the tournament.

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AB de Villiers opts out of PSL 2020

The PSL Draft is scheduled for 6th December with all 6 franchises given a deadline of December 1, 2019 to announce their list of retained players. Qalandars will release de Villiers and will have a job on their hands to replace him. AB de Villiers played 7 games for the Qalandars last season, scoring 218 runs at a strike rate of 128.99. Qalandars, however, finished at the bottom of the PSL table, winning only 3 of their 10 games.

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AB de Villiers has turned to franchise cricket since announcing his international retirement in 2018. He is currently representing Tshwane Spartans in the Mzansi Super League and will turn out for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League post-Christmas. He will then continue his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. AB de Villiers also represented Middlesex in England’s Vitality Blast T20 tournament in September.

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AB de Villiers: Workload management or security concerns?

With the Pakistan Cricket Board pushing for the PSL 2020 to be played in Pakistan, speculation arises whether AB de Villiers is opting out of the tournament due to security reasons and not personal ones. He had given the final leg of the PSL 2019 which was played in Pakistan, a miss due to a back injury. Several players had opted out of the second leg of the tournament amidst security concerns. Recently, many first choice Sri Lankan cricketers had opted out of the national team for the tour of Pakistan. Pakistan, however, lost to the depleted Sri Lankan side 0-3 in the T20I series.

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