Virat Kohli chose this South African legend as the ‘most talented cricketer’
The captain of the Indian men’s cricket team, Rohit Sharma, and the great Sachin Tendulkar were disregarded by batting maestro Virat Kohli, who chose former South African batsman Ab de Villiers as the most gifted player he has ever played with. From 2011 till 2021, ABD and Kohli, who has been a part of Royal Challengers Bengaluru from the IPL’s first season, shared a changing room.
“You are thoroughly deserving of your place—after all, the Hall of Fame is a representation of your impact on the game, and yours has been truly unique,” Virat said in a letter sent to Ab de Villiers upon his induction into the ICC Hall of Fame on Wednesday, October 16.
“It’s true that people have always spoken about your abilities. You are the best cricket player I have ever played with, hands down,” he said.
The 40-year-old De Villiers concluded his career with 8765, 9577, and 1672 runs in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20Is. He declared his retirement from international cricket in 2018.
He played for the Delhi Caps in the IPL in addition to the Royal Challengers of Bengaluru, and he concluded his career with 5162 runs in 184 games.
In One-Day Internationals, De Villiers is the player with the quickest century ever. On January 18, 2015, in a Johannesburg encounter against the West Indies, he reached the triple-figure milestone in only 31 balls. He also smashed the record for the quickest 150 in the game’s 50-over format on February 27, 2015, in the 2015 ODI World Cup match against the Men in Maroon in Sydney.
In the first quarterfinal encounter played on March 18 in Sydney, he captained South Africa in the 2015 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, helping them win the first-ever World Cup knockout match by defeating Sri Lanka by nine wickets. However, the Proteas were eliminated from the competition after losing to co-hosts New Zealand in Auckland in the first semi-final.
