AB needs the break - Domingo

The 31-year-old ODI skipper will miss the rest of the Bangladesh tour to be with his wife, who is pregnant with their first child.

De Villiers would have had to sit out of tomorrow’s first ODI with a suspension he received during the World Cup for a slow over rate.

But as a result of his ban and his request for paternity leave for the two Tests against Bangladesh following the ODI series, De Villiers has been sent home for the rest of the tour.

Domingo believes the enigmatic batsman will benefit from a break after a busy year that saw the Proteas bow out of the World Cup in the semi-finals.

“We’ve got a hectic schedule in the next few months.  AB’ s played a lot of cricket, his wife is about to give birth and I think freshness is going to be very important for him leading into a big series against New Zealand, India and England later this year,” Domingo said earlier this week.

“We need to manage his workload like we managed the workload of Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Morné Morkel. He’s obviously an integral part of our unit and we need to make sure we’re able to get the best out of him and hopefully he will come back fresh.”

While De Villiers puts down his bat in exchange for his first-born, a number of younger players have a chance to prove their worth to Domingo.

“It is a great opportunity to give a guy like Rilee Roussouw an extended run in the middle order. It will be great for him to play under these conditions on what are going to be tricky batting wickets against spinners. So it’s a great opportunity to develop those younger players,” the coach said.

Meanwhile all-rounder Ryan McLaren comes into the side for the first time since early 2014. While he was excited to be back in the fold, McLaren admitted De Villiers would be missed.

“Look, you are never going to replace him, he is a special player and he has been our leader for a long time and obviously an incredible batsman over the years. But he’s got something a bit more important to focus on at home – he’s got a little one on the way,” McLaren said.

But with that said, there are a couple of young faces to look forward to, most of the guys played in the World Cup and I’m sure the top six batsmen can try and come together and form big partnerships and score big totals.”

“We will miss him no doubt; he is a freak of nature to be honest. We love having him as our leader and captain. But as I said, we’ve made the decision, we accept that he has got an important priority at home and we have to make do without him, simple as that.”

The Proteas face Bangladesh in the first of three ODIs tomorrow. The match gets underway at 11h00 South African time.

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