India superstar Virat Kohli has hailed AB de Villiers as the ‘most talented cricketer he has ever played with’.
De Villiers established himself not only as a South Africa legend but an all-time great during his hugely impressive 21-year career.
The 40-year-old is regarded as one of the greatest white-ball batters of all time, having averaged 53.50 across 228 one-day internationals and striking at 150 in 340 T20 games.
A truly 360-degree player, De Villiers was one of the most devastating hitters in the game for the best part of a decade before he retired to in 2021.
Given his white-ball pedigree, De Villiers’ ability against the red-ball is often overlooked but he also averaged north of 50 in Test cricket, scoring 22 centuries in 114 Tests.
De Villiers, who was also one of the best fielders to ever play the game, was recently inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame alongside England great Sir Alastair Cook and Indian women’s pioneer Neetu David.
Kohli penned a letter to his friend and former IPL teammate following his induction, describing De Villiers as the ‘most talented cricketer’ he has played with.
‘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,’ Kohli told the ICC.
‘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 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.
‘Everyone remembers your attacking shots but you would adapt to the situation. Take 2015, in Delhi, when you faced 297 balls and made 43 trying to save the Test match.
‘There must have been a temptation at some stage to think “I’ve faced 200 balls, I need to hit a boundary”. But once you locked yourself into what the situation required, you just kept going on and on.
‘It all comes back to that belief in your ability. It wasn’t just about the crazy, extravagant shots.
‘You had the ability to defend the ball and had belief in that defence. To play that way because South Africa needed you to do so is a classic example of the team player you were.
‘A lot of players can have impressive numbers but very few have an impact on the psyche of those watching. For me, that is the highest value you can have as a cricketer and that is what makes you so special.
‘Your drive to want to be the guy to win the game for your team was tremendous and something I learned a lot from.
‘I remember taking from you that it doesn’t matter what you have done in the last four games, it is about how you approach the game today. It is about always being positive, always taking the game on and finding a way to get the job done.
‘A lot of players can have impressive numbers but very few have an impact on the psyche of those watching.
‘For me, that is the highest value you can have as a cricketer and that is what makes you so special.
‘You are in the Hall of Fame for the impact you have left on the game and I don’t think there is anything more special for a cricketer than to have that honour.
‘You are one of the greatest players to ever play the game.’
Despite his dwindling returns in recent years, Kohli will also expect to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, having scored more than 28,000 international runs and 80 hundreds.
Responding to Kohli’s praise, De Villiers said: ‘It’s really special for me and obviously Virat as well, thank you very much for the kind words.
‘What I’m really proud about is Virat speaking about me always putting the team first. Always being prepared to do everything I can to have an impact on the team. And that’s how I want to be remembered by, not by my stats or my records.
‘I want to be remembered as a guy who contributed to the team and always put the team first. I’m very, very proud about that and I will not shy away from that. That’s certainly the way I played my cricket and it was always a priority to me.’
India recently lost a home Test series for the first time in 12 years, New Zealand taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series to complete a historic win.
India face South Africa in a white-ball series next month before travelling to Australia in a bid to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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