AB de Villiers betrays Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle while naming all time best T20 player
Published - 17 Mar 2026, 01:34 PM | Updated - 17 Mar 2026, 01:35 PM
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South African cricket legend AB de Villiers was asked to name the best player of T20 cricket. Surprisingly, the former international batter did not mention any batter’s name in his reply.
Whenever a discussion is to find out the best players in the particular format, most of the cricket fraternity will mention multiple batters' names, including Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers. Villers himself has valid points to hold the title as the best cricketer in the Twenty20 format.
AB de Villiers named Jasprit Bumrah as the all-time best T20 player over Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle
For AB de Villiers, the Indian pace star Jasprit Bumrah is the best player ever to grace the format. Villiers named Bumrah the best player to play in the T20 format. The 42-year-old also mentioned that naming a bowler, instead of a batter, can be ironic.
“Who is the T20 Greatest of All Time? It's going to be a controversial... not controversial, ironic answer, because I think it's (Jasprit) Bumrah. But not bowling to me,” AB de Villiers said in an interview.
“Just his consistency. His ability to bowl at any stage of the 20 overs and take wickets under pressure - with the new ball, old ball, you name it. Super Over - you throw the ball to him; he wins you the game. That's Jasprit Bumrah for you,” he further added.
The caption of the Instagram video made the verdict more interesting. The video caption reads, “Since making this statement, Jasprit Bumrah has led India to two T20 World Cup titles. I’ll be honest, when asking him this, I expected someone like Gayle, Watson, Malinga, or even himself to be at the top of his list, but AB went for the Indian speedster, and no doubt, he’s living up to the claim.”
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Pakistan cricket team selector compared Bumrah with controversial spinner Usman Tariq
In contrast, Pakistan cricket's senior selector and former pacer, Aaqib Javed, compared the pacer with Pakistan international spinner Usman Tariq, who is known for his controversial bowling action. For Javed, batters struggle against the Indian pacer because of his bowling action.
“You look at this entire T20 World Cup - there is only one bowler, Bumrah, who is also now going for runs. Because he doesn't have a normal action and has a different bowling action, he doesn't allow batters to gain rhythm or get into a flow. I would say he is fast bowling's Usman Tariq,” Aaqib Javed said.
Jasprit Bumrah's T20I and IPL stats in brief
For Team India, in the T20 Internationals, Jasprit Bumrah has so far claimed 121 wickets after being featured in 95 matches for an economy rate of 6.51. He got the Man of the Match award for his exceptional bowling in the T20 World Cup 2026 Final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
In franchise cricket, Bumrah took 183 scalps, playing 145 IPL matches in exchange for an economy rate of 7.24.
Read More: MS Dhoni begged to retire by AB de Villiers ahead of IPL 2026
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AB de Villiers Virat Kohli Chris Gayle Jasprit Bumrah India National Cricket Team South Africa National Cricket Team IPLAbout the Author
This author is a member of Cricketaddictor who writes news and analysis related to cricket.
