AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli played for RCB in IPL.
De Villiers' appreciation for Kohli as a person and a cricketer has increased with time, but that doesn't change the fact that the former South Africa captain first thought the Indian veteran was "arrogant and cocky" when they first met.
In an interview with Prakhar Gupta, De Villiers was questioned about his initial impression of Kohli.
When asked if he really found Kohli "arrogant and cocky," De Villiers responded, saying, "Yeah, and I think he'll agree with that."
When questioned about why that was the case, De Villiers claimed that Kohli's extreme self-confidence was the source of his arrogance.
"Just a high level of confidence, and he's always played his cricket that way. It gets misinterpreted sometimes. In my case, that's what happened as well. He came across as overly confident," he said.
"I mean, that was my first impression. It's always tongue-in-cheek when I say that, but I think he'll agree with that. He was a very confident youngster at the ages of 19, 20, and 21. Early days. That's also what's necessary to achieve great success. You really need to believe in your own ability, and you just learn to manage that over the years," he added.
The legendary South African player went on to say that as Kohli ascended the sport's success ladder, his haughtiness progressively vanished.
"That faded away as he grew older and as he became more balanced as a person and as a cricket player. I think he had a lot to prove when he was younger, and that faded away. And that also changed that sense of having to be overly confident with people, but that changed," he said.
AB de Villiers retired from the IPL in 2021 but has continued to stay in touch with Virat Kohli and was present in India when RCB won the IPL 2025 and celebrated with Kohli and the franchise.