South African captain Faf du Plessis has broken his silence on the controversy surrounding AB de Villiers' wanting to come out of retirement for the World Cup, saying he had told the swashbuckler that it was too late to consider the offer.

Just after South Africa lost to India by six wickets on June 6, news came out that de Villiers had wanted to come out of retirement for the World Cup but his last-ditch offer was rejected by South Africa's team management on the eve of the squad announcement.