AB de Villiers reacts to Virat Kohli's 'kind words' after ICC Hall of Fame induction

Former South African player AB de Villiers shared his gratitude to star India batter Virat Kohli for his ‘kind words’ after being inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame along with legendary England batter Alastair Cook and former Indian women’s cricketer Neetu David.

However, Kohli and AB de Villiers played together for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and shared a lot of match-winning partnerships in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After De Villiers became a part of the elite list of cricketers in the ICC Hall of Fame, Kohli referred to him as “the most talented cricketer I have played with".

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli played together for RCB

Meanwhile, AB de Villiers, who retired from international cricket in 2018, and last played in the IPL back in 2021, thanked Virat Kohli for his gesture. He also shared that rather than his records, he always wanted to be remembered as a player for whom the team was more important rather than personal milestones as well.

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“It is really special for me" - AB de Villiers

“It is really special for me and obviously Virat as well, thank you so very much for the kind words. What I am really proud about is Virat speaking about me always putting the team first,” De Villiers said, as quoted by ICC.

“Always 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 am very, very proud about that and I will not shy away from that. That is certainly the way I played my cricket and it was always a priority to me,” AB de Villiers further added.

However, after making his debut way back in 2005, AB de Villiers became one of the greatest cricketers of world cricket as well. In 538 matches across formats for South Africa, he smashed 16 centuries and 108 half-centuries as well.