Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has provided insight into the sensitive scenario involving India's wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan. De Villiers addressed the problem of managing a cricket career in the present day, especially with the rise of T20 leagues around the world. He also acknowledged the difficulty of managing commitments and offered empathy for athletes who choose to take pauses. 

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Ab de Villiers empathizes with players

He underlined that, while T20 leagues such as the IPL attract attention, Test cricket remains the apex of the sport.

“Very interesting scenario there in India and I’ve been through this quite a bit throughout my career as well. It’s a very tricky situation. Players trying to manage their careers, and rightfully so, but the difficulty around this is that there are a lot of T20 leagues around the world, IPL, and it’s taking up a lot of attention of the player’s focus is on that,” said de Villiers on his official YouTube channel.

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Ab de Villiers on Ishan Kishan saga

Highlighting the demanding nature of a cricketer's schedule, he stated that players can become exhausted, prompting them to assume a defensive position and prioritise what they consider essential—a human reaction.

“So, whether Ishan is doing it wrong or other players are doing it right or wrong, I don’t know but what needs to happen is proper communication. So, the players know exactly what, not only proper communication but proper and regular communication.

The issue follows Ishan Kishan's resignation from India's Test team before of the South Africa series last year, and his subsequent absence from the England Tests. The situation highlights the difficult balance that modern-day cricketers must find between various formats, with Test cricket standing out as the priority. As cricket fans excitedly await the Rajkot Test, the junction of player workload management and the attractiveness of T20 leagues remains a hot topic in the cricketing world.