'You could execute...,' Virat Kohli writes touching letter for AB de Villiers on induction to ICC Hall of Fame
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India batter Virat Kohli has shared a heartfelt message with his former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate and South Africa batter AB de Villiers. The letter was written after the International Cricket Council (ICC) inducted de Villiers in the Hall of Fame.
De Villiers was known as one of the most fearsome batters in the world cricket, especially in T20s, where he became famous as Mr. 360 for playing shots all around the pitch.
"To AB,
It is an honour to be selected to write these words as you enter the ICC Hall of Fame.
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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.
People have always spoken about your ability, and rightly so. You are the most talented cricketer I have played with, the absolute number one.
But what truly stood out to me was your belief in that ability. 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.
There is no better example in my mind than when we were batting together for RCB in Kolkata in 2016," read an excerpt from Kohli's letter.
Kohli and de Villiers share a strong bond which developed during their time playing together for RCB. The duo played in 156 IPL matches together for 11 years, scoring 3175 runs in 77 innings - the most for RCB. Their partnership also includes 10 centuries as well.
At international level, de Villiers played 420 matches for SA, scoring 20,014 runs at an average of 48 with 47 hundreds and 109 fifties to his name to go with a highest score of 278 not out.
