AB de Villiers reveals startling incident that forced him to retire from IPL in 2021

Former South Africa cricket star AB de Villiers is considered one of the greatest T20 batters of this generation, which he has proved with his performances time and again at all levels. De Villiers enjoys massive popularity across the globe, particularly in India, all thanks to his illustrious stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL). When AB de Villiers announced his retirement from the cash-rich league, he probably broke a billion hearts in India. 

3 things you need to know

• AB de Villiers retired from international cricket back in 2018
• He hung up his boots across formats after the IPL 2021 season
• AB de Villiers was a core member of RCB for nearly a decade

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AB de Villiers reveals why he retired from IPL  

Two years after his retirement, AB de Villiers has revealed what forced him to retire from the IPL. In a recent interview, De Villiers said his son accidentally hit him in the eye with his heel. AB de Villiers said that he started losing vision in his right eye after the incident and it eventually played a role in his retirement decision. 

“My youngster accidentally kicked me in my eye with his heel. I started losing vision in the right eye. When I got the surgery done, the doctor actually asked me, ‘How in the world did you play cricket like this?’. Luckily, my left eye did a decent job for the last two years of my career,” AB de Villiers said in an interview with Wisden. 

Earlier this year, AB de Villiers was felicitated by his former IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore, for contributing to the game. He and former West Indies batter Chris Gayle were included in RCB's inaugural Hall of Fame list. RCB also launched special t-shirts in collaboration with Puma to celebrate their retirement. The event was organised at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru ahead of the start of the IPL 2023 season.