After South Africa suffered their second consecutive defeat in the ongoing World Cup, fans on social media pointed out that the Proteas are missing the services of batting great AB de Villers and injured pacer Dale Steyn. They have gone on to add that their presence could have made the difference for the Faf du Plessis-led side.

But former South Africa all-rounder Jonty Rhodes begged to differ and said that it was high time that the Proteas realised that de Villiers had retired and he wouldn't be available for selection. While South Africa lost by 104 runs against hosts England in their campaign opener, the Proteas lost by 21 runs against Bangladesh on Sunday.

Rhodes took to Twitter and said that relying on a couple of players wouldn't work and it was a case of some poor batting which resulted in South Africa's second defeat in the showpiece event. After Sunday's game, a fan told Rhodes: "Your country (South Africa) is seeing the lack of AB (de Villers) and (Dale) Steyn in the matches."

The 49-year-old then replied: "Whole team can't rely on 2 players; there is no more ABD. Batsmen got in and got out. Bad shot selection; so many top order players out "bowled" on good batting surface tells a story."

Rhodes also felt that his side will make a strong comeback in the tournament and said that most of the people believed that the duo's absence is the reason behind the Proteans dismal show.

"Sadly, there are many people saying the same thing; it's not rocket science! It will come; but for us SA fans, it needs to come sooner rather than later!!," he added.

In the clash against Bangladesh on Sunday, South Africa had failed to chase down Bangladesh's total of 330 on a good batting track. It was Shakib Al Hasan (75 off 84) and Mustafizur Rahman (3/67), who starred for Bangaldesh in their 21-run win.

--IANS

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