AB de Villiers is adored and admired by masses all across the globe and it can be seen from his presence in a particular country or within the stadium. However, his popularity in India is something that grab the headlines every second day.
Fondly known as Mr. 360 degree because of his repertoire of strokes, De Villiers is dazzling the spectators in the Indian Premier League since its inception. While AB represented the Delhi Daredevils for the first three seasons of IPL, he has been a constant member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise since 2011.
AB himself acknowledges the affection he has been getting from the Indians for over a decade. In fact, he has often termed India as his second home and recently expressed his desire to continue playing for RCB.
“I really feel I have been very lucky to be part of this franchise. I can’t see myself being with any other franchise while I am still playing cricket. It’s been a great ride,” De Villiers told Sportstar.
Talking about his rapport with RCB skipper Virat Kohli over the years, the former Proteas batsman said: “Well, he is a fantastic person and we are very close friends. We stay next to each other in hotels, my kids play in his room, he is a great human being and we get along really well and look out for each other. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
“I think he’s grown exceptionally well as a captain over the years. I think he is brilliant and leads from the front by example. I am actually looking forward to watching him grow in the next few years and he still has a long way to go. He’s achieved so much already. It’s difficult to even think he is still going to grow, but he truly is amazing,” he continued.
RCB had an underwhelming campaign in IPL 2019. With only 5 wins from 14 games, they finished the league stage as the bottom-placed team in the points table. In contrast, AB enthralled the fans with his willow. Despite retiring from international cricket almost a year back, he finished the IPL season with 442 runs from 13 innings. No wonder, cricket fans wish to watch his skills in the upcoming ODI World Cup.
Asked if he regrets his decision to retire last year, De Villiers said: “No. There is 100 percent satisfaction. It would have been nice to play the World Cup again, but when I retired, it was another 12-14 months out and there was absolutely no way I could have played for another 12-14 months internationally. I got to a stage where I felt I had to get away from the international scene, spend more time with my family and just stay sane! I am very happy where I am at the moment — I play a couple of months, spend some months with my family then go out and play again. The international schedule would never allow that. But yes, playing the WC would have been nice.”
AB featured in three World Cups but couldn’t manage to lift the title once. When enquired if not winning the mega event was one of his big disappointments, he replied: “Definitely not. It would obviously have been nice to be a World Cup-winning side, but there are absolutely no regrets. The 2015 edition, 2011, 2007 World Cups I played, all have been great journeys and part of me growing up, both as a player and as a person. Looking back, I had a lot of fun over the years.”
Asked to pick the favourites for this year’s World Cup, De Villiers answered in a diplomatic way.
“Not really. It is very difficult to pick a favourite. I think there are a lot of teams capable and that makes it a very open tournament. India has won the Champions Trophy in England, Pakistan won the last one there, Australia has won a lot of World Cups, England is the host, New Zealand always does well at World Cups, South Africa has a very good bowling attack — that’s six teams already I feel can win! I am simply looking forward to watching some exciting games through the tournament,” he asserted.
