AB de Villiers will make his long-awaited return to long-form cricket when he turns out for the Titans in a Sunfoil series. This is South Africa's first-class domestic tournament and its first match is to be held on Oct 6 against the Warriors in Benoni.
De Villiers's last first-class match was back in January 2016, when he registered his first pair in a Test match as South Africa beat England in the fourth Test at Centurion. Since then the 33-year-old has undergone elbow surgery that kept him out of action until January, when he announced that he would be taking a break from Test cricket.
AB de Villiers said that he wants a break from five-day game so that he could prolong his career and target the 2019 World Cup in England. He went on to miss Test series in New Zealand and England, before announcing in August that he would make himself available for all three formats from the middle of October.
De Villliers will now play a round of four-day cricket to prove his form and fitness ahead of South Africa's next Test assignments. South Africa's selection convenor confirmed that de Villiers would be playing for the Titans this week and will not be available for the Bangladesh series that is going to be held in the mid of October.
The Proteas' next long-form assignment after the Bangladesh tour is a four-day match against Zimbabwe on Boxing Day that is expected to be the first four-day Test in four decades. The game's Test status will need to be ratified at the ICC meeting next month.
