After the legend’s admission into the ICC Hall of Fame, star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has praised former South African captain AB de Villiers as the most gifted player he has ever played alongside. In the class of 2024, De Villiers joins the ranks of Indian women’s cricket virtuoso Neetu David and England’s Alastair Cook.
When AB de Villiers made his debut for South Africa in 2004 and recorded his first Test century in his first series, his cricket career officially began. He amassed nearly 20,000 runs in all international formats during his illustrious career, earning the moniker “Mr. 360” for his inventive and explosive batting style.
Mr 360 inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame 🎖
Saluting the impeccable brilliance of AB de Villiers 👊 pic.twitter.com/vhJ9Z6GYzG
— ICC (@ICC) October 16, 2024
You deserve your position wholeheartedly: Virat Kohli
The best individual score for South Africa in Test cricket is his undefeated 278 against Pakistan in 2010. In 2013, he equalled the Test record for most dismissals in a match with 11 catches against Pakistan, demonstrating his outstanding talents behind the stumps.
In limited-overs cricket, the former Proteas player won several ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year Awards and is the record holder for the fastest men’s ODI century. His outstanding averages—more than 50 in Tests and ODIs, with a stunning rate of more than 135 in T20Is—evidence his ability to dominate each format.
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A poignant message was written by Kohli, who shared the Royal Challengers Bengaluru dressing room with De Villiers, to his buddy and former teammate.
“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.
You had a crazy amount of belief that you could execute whatever you wanted to on a cricket field, and you normally did. That is why you ended up being so special.
You played and missed a couple and told me during a timeout that you weren’t picking him too well. I felt I was, so I remember telling you to give me the strike and I would try and hit boundaries off him.
You were always completely in tune with the needs of the team, which made you one of the hardest players to make plans for when we were on opposing sides in international cricket,” Kohli recalled.
India
