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Former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers is often considered among the most versatile cricketers to have ever graced the game. His incredibly audacious stroke-making ability has always been a subject of immense delight and enchantment.
For every aspiring cricketer, De Villiers’ name in itself is a yardstick for retaining the explosiveness across all formats, without compromising on technicalities and consistency.
Mr. 360 will be next seen in action while plying his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has been associated with the franchise since 2011.
The 36-year-old recently picked an RCB batsman who most closely resembles him in terms of playing style.
De Villiers said that Josh Philippe, an uncapped Australia cricketer, shares a lot of similarities with him.
“We are going to have some world-beaters in this edition, we will have (Aaron) Finch, Moeen Ali, Adam Zampa and Josh Philippe. I am looking forward to connecting with Josh, I see a lot of similarities between the way he plays when I was younger,” said De Villiers in a video posted by RCB on Twitter.
“The four guys joining us will add to what we have created here and that is a very special team environment. I am excited about Josh, I watched him play for the Sydney Sixers, he takes the new ball on, he is a very talented player, I have heard Gilchrist say really some good things about him,” he added.
De Villiers says he will miss the Chinnaswamy crowd
The Challengers will clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), on September 21, to start their proceedings of the IPL 2020. De Villiers further stated that the team would surely miss the ambience of Chinnaswamy Stadium, but it wouldn’t affect his game on a personal level.
“I think everyone wants to play in front of big stadiums, there is a sort of adrenaline that pumps into you when the crowd gets very loud especially in the Chinnaswamy, when the RCB crowd gets going, it gets difficult to stop the RCB side. We will miss that, I won’t say I am not used to it, I have played a lot of cricket in empty stadiums,” concluded De Villiers.
