South African legend AB de Villiers has confirmed that he is all set to make a comeback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year. The 38-year-old, who plied his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), had announced his retirement from the cash-rich league in November 2021.
De Villiers will join the RCB set-up, but he did not give many details about his role as he is unsure regarding the capacity of his part. Notably, De Villiers’ former RCB teammate Virat Kohli had earlier this month hinted that the former Proteas skipper is likely to join the Bangalore-based franchise in 2023.
“I am glad to hear Virat confirmed it. To be honest, we haven’t decided on anything yet. I will definitely be around IPL next year. I am not sure in what capacity, but I am missing getting back there,” De Villiers told VUSport.
The Pretoria-born cricketer said he would love to return to his second hometown, i.e. Bangalore and watch the full packed house in RCB’s home ground M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“I have heard a little bird tweeting, saying that there might be some games in Bangalore. So I would love to return to my second hometown (Bangalore) and watch the full capacity stadium there at the Chinnaswamy again. I would love to return, I am looking forward to it,” De Villiers added.
De Villiers is one of IPL’s most successful batters. He began his IPL career with the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) but moved to RCB in 2011 and played 11 seasons for the franchise till last year. The high-quality batter is the sixth-highest run-scorer, second amongst overseas players, with 5162 runs in 184 matches, including three hundreds and 40 half-centuries.
