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Cape Town - AB de Villiers is not expecting to simply walk back into the Proteas Test team and has committed to "do the hard work" to convince the national selectors that he deserves a recall.
The 33-year-old is once again available for the Proteas in all three formats after a break from the game, and he reminded all and sundry of his value with a smashing 176 off 104 balls in the second ODI against Bangladesh in Paarl on Wednesday.
De Villiers has not played a Test match since January 2016 when he captained the Proteas to a 280-run win at Centurion, and his decision to take an extended break from the format did not go down well with many of the country's cricket lovers.
With crucial series against India and Australia - both on home soil - coming up, the Proteas will undoubtedly be boosted by De Villiers' ability.
But, despite a Test average of 50.46, De Villiers believes that he will have to work hard to earn a recall to the Proteas side.
The current Test top order reads: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis (captain) and Quinton de Kock.
The most vulnerable name on that list right now is Bavuma, but he has hardly done enough to warrant losing his place in the side just yet.
"If selected, I'm there for South Africa whenever I'm needed," De Villiers confirmed on Wednesday after his man-of-the-match display against Bangladesh.
"If I'm in that starting XI, I will go out there and give my best shot.
"I can't accept that I'm even going to be in that squad. I've been out of the squad for a while now and some of the guys have come in and done really well.
"I'd like to think that I'm going to work my way back into that team ... you don't just walk into the Test side of South Africa. I'm prepared to do the hard work."
That hard work might entail a run with the Titans in the Sunfoil Series.
"I have played one already and I'm available to play whenever," De Villiers said of that possibility.
The Proteas will be playing a four-day Test against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day before three Tests against India, starting in January.
