After South Africa suffered their third consecutive defeat in the World Cup on Thursday, Cricket South Africa revealed that they tried to persuade star batsman AB de Villiers to come out of retirement before the start of the quadrennial event.

The batting ace, though, declined the opportunity having bid goodbye to all forms of international cricket last year. South Africa’s recent woes with the bat has witnessed fans call for De Villiers’ return. The alleged bad blood between De Villiers and CSA, though, has been brewing for the past four years, dating back to the World Cup 2015.

Under De Villiers’ captaincy, South Africa were knocked out of the semi-finals by New Zealand in a thrilling encounter at Auckland. Here is how the saga unfolded:

August 2016: De Villiers slams quota system

In the World Cup 2015 semi-final, Vernon Philander replaced Kyle Abbott in the team, reportedly to adhere to the unofficial quota of fielding four players of colour, De Villiers wrote in AB: The Autobiography.

Throughout the said tournament, South Africa had played between three and five players of colour and had not received instructions on specific numbers. De Villiers wrote that he received a call a day before the semi-final informing him that Philander had passed a fitness test and would play instead of the in-form Abbott.

“It depressed me to think of my team-mates in these outdated racial terms,” De Villiers writes in the book. “Would anyone really mind if there were three or four players of colour in our side?”

March 2017: Return to the top

AB de Villiers scaled to the summit of the ICC One Day International batting charts yet again, Australia’s David Warner by four points. De Villiers continued to be in good batting form.

June 2017: ‘Will decide on my future’

South Africa were in England in summer of 2017 and De Villiers returned after playing the Twenty20 International series, and was unavailable for Test series. This was where speculation about his future first cropped up. De Villiers said he was going to take a break.

“I am going to meet with CSA in August [2017], and that will decide my future,” he said. “I want to make sure I am ready for September, when Bangladesh come.”

“We will see what works for both parties. “We are not going to pick and choose games, but we are going to make a final decision about what happens for the next few years.”

August 2017: De Villiers steps down as ODI skipper

De Villiers, two months later, stepped down as ODI skipper, stating that the balancing act of raising a young family along with playing international and franchise cricket around the world had taken a toll on him.

De Villiers said: “A lot has been said and written over the past 12 months, and I feel it is time to make my position absolutely clear. Over the past year or so, I have tried to manage many commitments.

“I have felt mentally and physically tired; my wife and I are bringing up two fantastic kids and playing in all three formats ever since 2004 has taken its toll.” The batting ace insisted that he will be available for selection in all formats of the game.

October 2017: Announces return

De Villiers announced he will be back in South African colours for the three-match One-day International series against Bangladesh in October 2017, making his first appearance in national colours after the Champions Trophy.

October 2017: Career best score

De Villiers blasted a career-best 176 to set up a series-clinching win for South Africa in the against Bangladesh. He raced to his 25th one-day international century off 68 balls with ten fours and a six. He subsequently dethroned Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked ODI player yet again.

December 2017-January 2018: Happier times

De Villiers was the captain of the South African side when they played a day/night game against Zimbabwe. Test skipper Faf du Plessis pulled out of the game after contracting a flu on the eve of the match. In January 2018, the 34-year-old played a part in his side Test series win over India at home. However, he didn’t feature in the limited-overs series, where the Proteas comfortably finished second best over Virat Kohli and Co.

May 2018: Goodbye, Mr 360

De Villiers sent shockwaves around the cricket world. One of the most loved figures of the game, in a video message on Twitter, said: “I have decided to retire from all international cricket with immediate effect. It is time for others to take over. I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired.

“It would not be right for me to pick and choose where, when and in what format I play for the Proteas. For me, in the green and gold, it must be everything or nothing.

“It’s not about earning more somewhere else, it’s about running out of gas and feeling that it is the right time to move on.”

May 2019: Offer to return

While South Africa were struggling against India, reports surfaced of De Villiers offering to return for the World Cup just 24 hours before the team for the World Cup was set to be announced. Despite RCB performing poorly in the IPL, De Villiers looked in good touch, scoring 442 runs at 44.20.

The former captain had communicated his desire to return to South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis, head coach Ottis Gibson and convenor of selectors Linda Zondi. CSA, though, rubbished the reports before confirming that there were talks between the board and De Villiers before the final-15 was selected.

June 2019: AB vs CSA

Cricket South Africa National Selection Panel convenor, Linda Zondi responded to media reports that said South Africa turned down de Villiers’ proposal to come out of retirement and play in the ongoing World Cup.

Zondi said: “I did give him the option to plan and monitor his season to get him to the World Cup fresh and in a good space.

“We made it clear that he would have to play during the home tours against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to be considered for selection, instead, he signed to play in the Pakistan and Bangladesh Premier Leagues respectively. He turned down the offer and said he was at peace with his decision to retire.”

Zondi also stated that he had “pleaded” with De Villiers not to step down in 2018 and expressed shock at skipper Du Plessis and coach Otis Gibson to share the his desire to be a part of the squad in England.