Proteas batting maverick AB de Villiers has arrived in Australia to ply his trade in the Big Bash League (BBL) 09 for Brisbane Heat.
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It will be De Villiers’ maiden BBL stint and there is a lot of expectations from him as he joined the Heat squad after a stellar outing in the Mzansi Super League (MSL) for Tshwane Spartans.
De Villiers, who called time on his international cricket career in May 2018, amassed 325 runs at a strike rate of 152.58 in MSL.
"I felt in some of the best form of my career. Hopefully, we'll see more of that in this tournament. I know what's required of me to make a play for the team. There have been some standout performances from the Heat this season and I think the team is in a really good place," AB quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
De Villiers will have his work cut-out on BBL debut as he will fill in the shoes of England's Tom Banton, who smashed 223 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 176.
The South African acknowledged Banton’s impact at the top and hoped to emulate the same while batting in the middle order.
"Tom Banton did a fantastic job, hopefully, I'll do a similar job but in the middle order." De Villiers said before adding that there'll be inevitable pressure on his shoulders to perform.
"I always (feel pressure). Wherever I play around the world, either a club game or the World Cup semi-finals, I feel the same kind of pressure, the pressure I put on myself to perform at the best of my ability. This is no different, but I've done it so many times. It doesn't guarantee success but I know what to expect. The butterflies I'm getting in my stomach is a good sign."
"All I can do is go out and enjoy myself and hopefully have an impact on the game with the batting. Then there's the fielding and all the off-field stuff as well. I've got a big role to play as an individual not just as a cricketer and I'm looking forward to the challenge."
The fans are also excited to watch the duo of De Villiers and Chris Lynn bat together.
"It could be interesting, I don't know what to expect [about batting with Lynn]," he said. "We know each other from chatting at IPL but it's an interesting dynamic with two players at the crease, it either works or it doesn't. I've got a feeling that it's going to work and be very nice to watch. Hopefully, I'll do most of the watching at the non-striker's end."
