When AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of International cricket back in May, it did leave the cricketing fraternity bemused. However, the man himself has no regrets of walking away from the game.

Speaking with the Independent, de Villiers confessed that the pressure of International cricket had become unbearable.

“It’s been unbearable at times: the pressure you have to face, performing day in and day out. The expectations you put on yourself, from fans, from the country, from coaches,” de Villiers said.

“It is huge and it’s something that’s on your mind all the time as a cricketer. And it is definitely something that I’m not going to miss. I am very happy to have stepped away. Absolutely no regrets,” he further added.

Towards the closing stages of this career, de Villiers was criticised for picking and choosing games and formats according to his own convenience. He was on a self-served isolation from Test cricket for a good two years, before making a comeback for the home series against India and then against Australia. He was prolific in both these series and Australia and had an impact on the outcome of the series.

However, immediately after the Australia series, the batsman who featured in 114 Tests, 228 One-Day Internationals and 78 Twenty20 Internationals for South Africa, decided to walk away from the game according to his own conditions.