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Former South Africa legend AB de Villiers has made a surprising confession regarding Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, stating that he did not particularly like him.
The statement came following Virat Kohli’s retirement earlier this week. Kohli, 36, announced his retirement from red-ball cricket with an emotional Instagram post, reflecting on a journey that saw him become one of the greatest Test batters of his era.
Virat Kohli has represented India in 123 Test matches since his debut in 2011 against the West Indies. Throughout his remarkable 14-year career, he has scored 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries.
The 37-year-old batter has also captained India in 68 Test matches, winning 40 and losing only 17.
AB de Villiers emphasized Virat Kohli’s early days in cricket, praising his competitiveness on the field.
“Virat is like one of my cricketing brothers, someone I really grew fond of when I got to know him better. He’s an absolute pain to play against, so before I knew him I didn’t really like him a lot because he was so good and so competitive, very similar to me with that competitive nature,” De Villiers said in a video on ICC.
Former batter shared insights about his bond with Virat Kohli, recalling his time at the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
“We really like winning and we like to pull our weight within the team environment and if anything threatens that it usually brings out aggressive body language and one that will attack back and that’s exactly what Virat was like playing against.
Then I got to know him at RCB, I got to know him a lot better. We became family friends, became brothers and also became great partners at the wicket when we played together, really understood each other out there and I probably enjoyed every second of playing with him,” De Villiers added.,” he added.
READ: Former New Zealand legend joins England coaching staff
