New Delhi, India
Soon after the end of IPL 2021, AB de Villiers dropped a bomb. The former South African captain announced his retirement from all forms of the game in mid-November and, thus, ended his ten-year-long association with the Virat Kohli-starrer Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise.
During his IPL career, de Villiers represented the Delhi Daredevils (now known as the Delhi Capitals) but spent majority of his days at the RCB camp. Overall, he signed off with 5,162 runs -- sixth-most overall -- but ended up scoring 4,491 runs from 128 matches for the Bengaluru-based franchise and led them to the playoffs on five occasions. However, he couldn't help RCB end their title-drought.
Recently, former RCB captain Virat Kohli recalled de Villiers' retirement. The two had become one of the most successful batting pairs in IPL, combining together to lead RCB to some mammoth scores and memorable wins.
âItâs very strange I mean, I clearly remember when he decided to finally call it a day. He sent me a voice note, we were coming back from Dubai after the (T20) World Cup. I got a voice note from AB de Villiers while we were driving back home. I opened it and while I was listening to it, I looked at Anushka in shock. My face fell to which she questioned, I showed her the message and the voice note from AB and she exclaimed, âDonât tell me!â. She knew," Kohli said on RCB Bold Diaries.
He further revealed, "I kind of had the impression and was guessing it in the last IPL. Our rooms were next to each other, and we would walk the same way and disperse, every time we walked to our room and he would see me outside, he would be like âI want to see you for coffee, one of these days. I kept getting nervous and was like âI am not sitting with you because I think there is something comingâ to which he always said âNo man there is nothing, I just want to have a chat with you, itâs been a while and he never speaks like that because we interact all the time. So, I knew something is brewing up. It is a very strange feeling I got very emotional. The voice note was very emotional as well for me when he said, âLook I donât have it in me anymore. I have shared so many moments with him, highs and lows, everything we have been through he was right next to me."
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Before signing off, Kohli opined that he will think about ABD and his contributions for RCB if they manage to win their maiden title in the ongoing season. "The other day, it got me thinking, if we manage to win the title in the coming seasons, 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. It would still mean a lot to him even if he is watching the game from home. He is a special human being as he has touched everyone, and we all can vouch for that. He has been amazing, and I donât think there is one person who can say that AB de Villiers has not contributed to their lives in some way or the other,â Kohli added.
RCB got off to a losing start in IPL 2022, going down to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets on Sunday (March 27).