Proteas batting maverick AB de Villiers, who stunned the cricket fraternity by announcing a shock retirement from international cricket last year, is all set to enthrall the fans in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League.
De Villiers will be featuring for Rangpur Riders and he is hoping to turn the tables around for his franchise. The right-hander is expected to play in Riders’ next match against Sylhet Sixers on Saturday (January 19).
“I love coming to Bangladesh. I haven’t been here for a while. We got a really nice team in the Rangpur Riders. We haven’t played as of yet, but hoping to turn it around and finish well in the tournament,” De Villiers told reporters after an optional practice session at Sylhet District Stadium on Friday.
“I have heard good things about BPL. I have guys at the IPL what it’s like, and they said quality of cricket is fantastic. It is a tournament that’s growing from strength to strength every year. I am very happy to be part of it this year,” he added.
Fondly known as Mr. 360 degree because of his repertoire of strokes, De Villiers is widely deemed as one of the best batsmen in contemporary cricket. He boasts of quite a few world records to his name. De Villiers is the proud owner of the record of being the quickest to reach fifty (16 balls), hundred (31 balls) and 150 runs (64 balls) in one-day internationals.
Highly confident of his abilities, De Villiers is also expecting some fireworks in his maiden BPL stint.
“Expectations from fans motivate me to go out and play well. I have expectations throughout my career, so it is nothing new to me. The game of cricket is up and down. You can’t perform every game. I am also realistic about the sport. I don’t expect too much of myself. But I do expect some fireworks from time to time,” he said.
Defending champion Rangpur have won only two out of its six matches, and they have tough fixtures ahead to qualify for the play-offs.
“I haven’t played for them yet. Hopefully I will be playing my first game [Saturday], if selected. But it is a fantastic squad when looking at the names. It is a really well-balanced team. I know the Rangpur Riders have had some success in the past. If we can get bit of a run going towards the latter stages of the tournament, the last six games in the pool stage, hopefully we do qualify for the knockouts,” De Villiers concluded.
