Former Proteas international AB de Villiers has heaped huge praise on Indian skipper Virat Kohli while stating that his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate is “Cristiano Ronaldo”, while he is “Lionel Messi”.
The two have been playing together for RCB in Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2011, and are considered to be the best duo in the game. Many have termed them as telepathic, given how easily they play around each other, and ABD too believes that there is some sort of chemistry between them.
“There is definitely some chemistry about us batting together. We have a similar mindset about the game which we enjoy. It’s nice to bat with someone who understands the way you play and also the mutual understanding. He likes Ronaldo so let him be that and I’ll be Messi, will take that gladly,” he said.
‘Mr 360°’ also revealed that he is scared watching the constant improvement of the Indian skipper. “Kohli has learnt from his mistakes, he is a really good captain and getting better. That is the scary part. As a batsman he has got areas where he can improve and that is also scary, so all in all, he is in a great place in his career,” he added.
De Villiers, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, also believes that Virat Kohli & Co. can defeat Australia on their own turf later this year, though they failed to beat England and South Africa earlier this year.
“India have a very good chance. They came to South Africa and probably played better cricket in the three-Test series. They lost in England but once again that first Test was on a knife’s edge and could have gone either way which would have changed the complexion of the series. It (the Australia tour) will be challenging but they have the ability to win over there. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar weren’t ready in England so India can get all the fast bowlers ready. They have, if not the best, one of the best bowling attacks in the world and we know what the batting unit is capable of. They have got to take the opportunities against Australia,” the former South Africa skipper concluded.
