<p><strong>De Villiers urges his teammates to devote themselves fully – Cricket News Update</strong></p>
<p>South Africa, newly appointed limited-overs skipper, AB de Villiers has urged his cricketers to devote themselves fully to the national team.</p>
<p>"I want the guys to play for the team, and for there to be no selfishness. Everything must be sacrificed for the team; they will have to put their own performances aside,” said De Villiers.</p>
<p>“But that does not mean that the individual records must suffer. For some guys, playing for the team will mean achieving more personally” he added.</p>
<p>The veteran took over the South African captaincy, after Graeme Smith stepped down from the One-Day and Twenty20 captaincy, following the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011, where he led his side to the quarter-final stage of the tournament.</p>
<p>De Villiers, while talking about his own experience said that he was not convinced with just individual performances, rather his personal goals have always and will always come after the team’s interests.</p>
<p>In his earlier statements, De Villiers said that taking the leadership of Proteas was never his goal, but he came to know about his captaincy skills, after Smith made him realize his potential.</p>
<p>He added that Smith forced him to take up more responsibilities and behave more like a leader, encouraging him to participate in team meetings.</p>
<p>The right-handed batsman added that he is ready to implement plans and do more for the team, even at the cost of his own individual records.</p>
<p>De Villiers, who is an excellent sportsman overall, has been under criticism by analysts, suggesting that his three-pronged role might be too much to handle.</p>
<p>However, the wicketkeeper batsman showed that he is physically and mentally fit for his responsibilities, after his excellent performance in the recent Indian Premier League.</p>
<p>Batting in 115 ODI innings, de Villiers has scored 4523 runs at an average of 45.68, including 11 centuries and 26 fifties.</p>
<p>De Villiers will start his duties as a captain on October 13, in Cape Town, with a two-match Twenty20 series.</p>
Tags: