Former South African skipper and Royal Challengers Bangalore player AB de Villiers opened up about how the Indian Premier League changed his life, his time at the franchise, his equation with Virat Kohli, what it took to become Mr. 360 and more in a podcast series released by the franchise’s digital team.
Excerpts from the RCB podcast episode featuring AB de Villiers:
Imagine that you joined the South Africa football or rugby team instead of cricket, what would AB de Villiers be known for?
No idea. Probably very similar things to what we’re hearing and seeing right now. I love playing under pressure, I love being the guy who turns things around, who changes the momentum. I don’t know if we all like that. But I definitely grew up having this picture in my mind of me being on the stage and having to do something special, to win the game for my team. That was imprinted in my mind from a young age. I didn’t necessarily have the crowds growing up but I could always in my mind hear that happening. I could always feel like...you know, not that it was a goal of mine to play in front of big crowds but that was my thing. I wanted to play big moments and make a difference where people go.
Before you became synonymous with Royal Challengers Bangalore, you first started with Delhi. Just to understand, were you happy that Delhi [Daredevils] picked you up? Did you follow the auction closely?
Well, looking back now. It would have been great if my first three years went at RCB as well but I guess it’s all part of the journey. I was very happy when I was picked up by Delhi. I had a fantastic three years. I made some unbelievable friends in Glen McGrath... I mean, I can name the list... Daniel Vettori joined us there... the list goes on. I mean the people that I met was definitely the best memory of my first three years. Andrew McDonald was there, I mean it’s a big list of players and connections that I made so I would never ever change that for anything. Team wise there was always a bit of this and that and some interesting characters involved in the management setup, but we’re not going to dig into that too deep.
I was very happy with the change [at RCB] and something fresh and I had no idea what to expect when I got picked up by RCB but the minute I walked into the setup, I knew this was my vibe. I mean, that’s a dream come true kind of situation looking back now and once again it changed my life and I’ve had a great ride.
It’s been 10 years of your friendship [with Virat Kohli], do you guys talk off season as well or is it only when you meet here that you bond together and then it’s goodbye, see you again next year. How does that work?
It’s weird. I’m actually that kind of guy where I’m not really good with keeping in touch but for some reason, with V, it just happens naturally. I mean it’s easy that he is on telly the whole time when I’m at home, he’s playing for India. And if not, then I’m doing something somewhere and we stay in touch, it just happens naturally. Or I’ll see a post on instagram and ask him how it’s going. So we stay in touch even though we only see each other a couple of months here.
Watch the full interaction here: