Would be silly of us to not get AB de Villiers involved: Graeme Smith

Former cricketer and current Cricket South Africa's (CSA) director of cricket, Graeme Smith has said that it would be silly if the management did not get De Villiers involved for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"His record in one-day and T20 cricket is outstanding. It would be silly of us to not have him involved," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Smith as saying.

Currently, de Villiers is playing in the Big Bash League (BBL) for Brisbane Heat.

After playing his first match in the tournament, he said that he wanted to represent South Africa in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"I would love to. I have been talking to 'Bouch' (new South Africa coach Mark Boucher), (new director of cricket) Graeme Smith and (captain) Faf (du Plessis) back home, we are all keen to make it happen," cricket.com.au had quoted De Villiers as saying.

"So I'm thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping that everything will work out," he added.

The 35-year-old had announced his retirement from international cricket on May 23, 2018.

However, he tried to stage a comeback in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 but was not able to reach an agreement with the management.

The ICC T20 World Cup 2020 will commence from October 18 and will get concluded on November 15 in Australia.