Batting superstar Virat Kohli ignored Indian men’s cricket team captain Rohit Sharma and legendary Sachin Tendulkar to pick former South African batter Ab de Villiers as the most talented cricketer he has played with. Kohli, who has been associated with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL since the first edition, shared RCB’s dressing room with ABD from 2011 to 2021.
In a letter for Ab de Villiers after he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on Wednesday (October 16), Virat wrote, “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.”
“People have always spoken about your ability, and rightly so. You are the most talented cricketer I have played with, the absolute number one,” he added.
40-year-old De Villiers, who announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018, finished his career with 8765, 9577, and 1672 runs in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs, and 78 T20Is, respectively.
In the IPL, apart from RCB, he also played for the Delhi Capitals and finished his career with 5162 runs in 184 matches.
De Villiers holds the record for scoring the fastest century in ODIs. He needed only 31 balls to cross the triple-figure mark against the West Indies during a match played in Johannesburg on January 18, 2015. During the 2015 ODI World Cup match against the Men in Maroon in Sydney on February 27, 2015, he also broke the record of scoring the fastest 150 in the 50-over format of the game.
He served as South Africa’s captain in the 2015 edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and helped them win the first knockout match in World Cup history by getting better of Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the first quarterfinal match played on March 18 in Sydney. But the Proteas failed to win the title and made an exit from the tournament after losing the first semi-final match against co-hosts New Zealand in Auckland.
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