Top 5 players who could replace Ab de Villiers for the ICC World Cup 2019

AB De Villiers who announced his retirement yesterday from all formats will require a replacement in the squad. 

The South African star AB De Villiers announced his retirement from all formats of the game last night. This decision took fans by surprise as AB has been in quite a good shape on field lately. He had expressed his feelings towards calling the day for his career in test cricket but his exit from all formats of the game has really taken the South Africans by shock. 

The ICC World Cup is just a year away, and the South Africans will have to look for an excellent replacement for the team, which shouldn't be very difficult considering that the team has a good back-up of young emerging players in the country. 
 
Here is a list of players who could be a great replacement to AD De Villiers shortly. 

1. Aiden Markram

He first made his mark on field when he led the South African under 19 squad to the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He is also being considered as the future Proteas skipper for the ODI squad, and he had his first shot at international cricket when he was picked up for the Test series against Bangladesh. 

He has played a handful of ODI matches in which he averages a good 27. He will be looked upon as a suitable replacement for De Villiers for the squad. 

2. Theunis de Bruyn

Theunis de Bruyn was first called upon by the national side to be a part of the Proteas last year. He is one of the most exciting names in domestic cricket in South Africa. He has played five Tests and two T20s so far for the national squad but has done nothing substantial for the national team. He has a fantastic track record in domestic cricket and has scored 1234 runs in just 34 List A innings, de Bruyn averages 41.13 and hits the ball at a strike rate of 85. 
He is looked upon as a pillar in the batting order with his smooth and robust gameplay and will be a suitable replacement for AB in the team. 

3. Christiaan Jonker

His debut in international cricket for the team was against India in which he smashed 49 runs off 24 balls with a bowling side with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah. This debut was enough to leave a mark and prove that he meant business. Jonker has had a fantastic domestic track record with 2841 runs in his List A career with an average of 40 and a strike rate of 103. Jonker's hard-hitting skills are precisely what the squad will need after the depart of De Villiers and will be a perfect replacement for the team right now. 

4. Heinrich Klaasen

 

Klaasen walked into ODI international cricket with his match-winning debut against India which was followed by another match-winning game against India two weeks later at the Wanderers. These two games got him a deal with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League as a replacement for Steve Smith. Klaasen has scored 1277 List A runs with an average of 35 and a strike rate of over 90. 

5. Khaya Zondo

A 28-year-old who has shown some serious performance in domestic cricket with 103 matches in first-class cricket, he has scored 4778 runs with an average of 31. He was picked up by the side against India but failed to perform well in the series. He has played exceptionally well at the domestic level and with his explosive batting skills could go higher up in order to fill the gap.