AB de Villiers started his Indian Premier League (IPL) representing the Delhi Daredevils, now Capitals, and even smashed a century for them. But the former South Africa batter will mostly be remembered for his heroics while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The veteran stayed as many as 11 years for the Red Army.
Virat Kohli, who stepped down as RCB’s skipper after the 2021 IPL edition, said that de Villiers’ signing in 2011 changed the face of the team. The Challengers are yet to get their hands on the IPL trophy, but de Villiers has garnered loads of accolades for his exploits with the bat in hand.
In the 2011 player auction, RCB secured his services at a price of $1.1 million. Kohli also said that RCB’s lineup was strengthened after they signed West Indies’ Chris Gayle in the same year when de Villiers joined them.
Kohli lauds Gayle and AB de Villiers
“The gamechanger in RCB for me was when they brought AB de Villiers in 2011, Gayle was signed mid-season in 2011,” Kohli was quoted as saying in RCB podcast.
Gayle had played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first three seasons of the IPL, but was unable to leave an impact. Hence, he initially went unsold in the auction. However, the Challengers called him up as a replacement for retired Netherlands’ pacer Dirk Nannes.
From there on, Gayle didn’t look back and kept smashing records at will. In 142 matches, the Jamaican notched 4965 runs at an average of 39.72 and a strike rate of 148.96. Along with 31 half-centuries, the veteran also racked up eight tons, the highest by any player in the history of the IPL.
In 2018, Gayle left RCB and joined the Punjab Kings (PBKS) where he plied his trade for four seasons. The southpaw hasn’t registered for the 2022 IPL mega auction. As far as de Villiers is concerned, he retired from all forms of cricket last year, also pulling the curtains down on his career for RCB.
In 184 IPL matches, he scored 5162 runs at an average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 151.68. He also shared quite a few useful partnerships with Kohli during his stint with RCB.
