South African cricketer Khaya Zondo has revealed in a latest statement that he had lost all respect for star cricketer AB de Villiers after the former was sidelined in favour of Dean Elgar in an ODI match that happened in 2015 against India.

After the ODI series being levelled 2-2, Zondo, who was part of the India tour squad, was left out of the decider match in Mumbai while Dean Elgar, who had flown in to be part of the Test series, was chosen in Zondo's place. He was quoted as saying, "The captain (de Villiers) called me over to the side, away from the rest of the team and mentioned to me he was the one who felt I should not play. He was trying to explain himself and he was taking full responsibility for the decision."

"I remember in the moment of him explaining himself to me, losing all respect for him as a captain, and as someone I looked up to as a cricketing hero of mine because I could not believe this guy was trying to justify himself to me, and it came across as if I should accept this decision because the decision came from him. I switched off mentally for the rest of the day and I detached myself from the team because it was clear I was not wanted," Zondo further mentioned.

"Switching off helped me cope with everything that was happening. The hardest part was watching the players who were selected ahead of me playing and having the opportunity to shine for South Africa on a world stage, in India and having a chance to play and potentially impress and get future IPL opportunities," the batsman added in his statement.