Bangladesh vs South Africa 2015: AB de Villiers to Miss ODI Series

AB de Villiers will not be featuring in the South Africa ODI squad in the upcoming three-match series against Bangladesh.

The ODI skipper, who had played in the two-match Twenty20 (T20) series, was handed a one-match ban for maintaining slow over rate in the semi-final game against New Zealand during the ICC World Cup 2015 in Australia. It was his second offence in a span of one year that led to this ban.

Earlier, De Villiers had requested for a paternal leave and he would not have played in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. Cricket South Africa decided to let the player go back to his country and spend time with his family. In his absence, Hashim Amla will lead the South African side.

"AB's presence and contributions will be missed, but we have a hectic playing schedule this season and we felt this would be a great opportunity to develop the next tier of batters during this series, like we are doing with our bowlers. We would also like to give him the peace of mind of being close to his wife with the imminent birth of his first-born child," said South Africa head coach Russell Domingo

Proteas clinched the T20 series on Tuesday after beating Bangladesh by 31 runs in the second T20 game. It will be interesting to see how South Africa would approach the ODI series without the services of their star batsman and skipper.