AB de Villiers' behaviour during IPL 2021 gave Virat Kohli the sign that it was probably the last IPL for him as well.
Follow Us
Veteran batsman AB de Villiers, who was one of the vital cogs of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since 2011, is absent from this year’s Indian Premier League. And, the former RCB captain Virat Kohli is missing him as both of them used to handle the pressure in the middle-order for RCB.
However, de Villiers has played 184 matches in the cash-rich league, smashing 5162 runs which came at an average of 39.71 and a strike rate of 151.69 as well. Before this year’s tournament, he announced his retirement last year in November. And, Virat Kohli has recently recalled all those moments when he got to know from AB de Villiers that he wouldn’t be playing in the IPL anymore.
While speaking on RCB’s ‘Bold Diaries’, Kohli said that he became emotional when he heard the news from him. “It’s very strange. I clearly remember when he decided to finally call it a day. He sent me a voice note. I still remember we were coming back after the World Cup from Dubai, and I got a voice note. And I opened it and I listened to it. Anushka (Sharma) was with me, and I looked at her like this, and my face fell. She was like ‘What?’ I showed her the message, I showed her the WhatsApp chat and the voice note from AB de Villiers. And the first thing she said was ‘Don’t tell me’. She knew,” he said.
He also added that de Villiers’ behaviour during IPL 2021 gave him the sign that it was probably the last IPL for him. Even, he also guessed that there was something brewing up too.
READ MORE: PBKS vs RCB: Odean Smith, Shah Rukh Khan snatch thrilling win for Punjab Kings
“I kind of had the impression or I kind of was guessing it in the last IPL. Because he kept telling me – our rooms were next to each other, and we would walk the same way and then disperse – and every time I walked to my room, he’d see me outside, he’d be like ‘I wanna see you for coffee one of these days’. And I kept getting nervous; I was like ‘I’m not sitting with you, I think there’s something coming,’ and he said ‘No man, there’s nothing. I just wanna sit and have a chat with you, it’s been a while’, and he never speaks like that, we interact all the time. So I knew something’s brewing up,” Virat Kohli again added.
However, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers used to share a great bond be it on or off the field. Their partnerships on the field have helped RCB win the games many times as well. Moreover, this time, Kohli has also given up the leadership and they are playing under Faf du Plessis. They have started with a defeat against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). And, they will take on KKR in their second match at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Wednesday (March 30).
“It’s a very strange feeling. I got very emotional, and the voice note was very emotional for me when he said, ‘Look, I don’t have it in me anymore’. I’ve shared so many moments with him – highs and lows – he’s been right next to me through thick and thin,” Kohli said.
“I was actually thinking about it the other day. If we manage to win the title in the coming seasons – this one, next one, whatever it is – I would be very emotional thinking about him first. Rather than what I would experience after such hard work of so many years, I would actually think of him, how much it’d still mean to him, watching from home. He’s a special human being, he’s touched everyone’s lives here. We can all vouch for that, he’s been amazing. I don’t think there’s one person here who can say ‘AB has not contributed to my life in some way or the other’,” Virat Kohli concluded.
