AB de Villiers has denied reports he has been asked by Cricket South Africa to lead the Proteas, adding: "It's hard to know what to believe these days."

The batsman has not played international cricket since April 2018 but has been linked with a return ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup, which is scheduled to start in October in Australia.

De Villiers was quoted as saying to Star Sports Cricket Connected that he had not only held talks about a comeback but also over taking on a leadership role.

"The desire is there from my side to play for South Africa, and [I] have been asked by Cricket South Africa to lead the Proteas again," he said, before adding a comeback would only happen if he is "still good enough to be there" in the team.

However, the former Proteas skipper reacted to the story via Twitter on Wednesday.

"Reports suggesting Cricket SA have asked me to lead the Proteas are just not true," De Villiers tweeted out to his 6.9million followers. 

"It's hard to know what to believe these days. Crazy times. Stay safe everyone."

De Villiers played in 114 Tests and 228 ODIs, averaging over 50 in both formats, as well as 78 T20 fixtures at international level. He retired in May 2018 having "run out of gas".