AB de Villiers Gives Massive Update On MS Dhoni And Virat Kohli Joining SA20 In Near Future

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has expressed his desire to see Indian superstars such as MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in SA20. While cricketers from around the world participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the BCCI does not allow the Indian players to play T20 leagues outside the country. As per reports, one of the reasons behind BCCI’s decision to not let the players play in overseas leagues is to preserve domestic cricket. Some fear allowing players to play in T20 leagues would lead to the weakening of first-class cricket in the country.

And while BCCI is unlikely to change its stance on the matter anytime soon, AB de Villiers is hopeful of seeing the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in action in SA20. He also stated that both the players would be taken good care of in South Africa. Responding to a query on SA20 Commissioner Graeme Smith personally wanting to reach out to Dhoni and the possibility of Kohli playing the league, AB de Villiers said:

“(Laughs) I think it would be very possible to get Virat over here. Maybe for his final season, we’ll give him a wonderful farewell for the end of his career. I haven’t discussed it with any players except for Robin Uthappa and RP Singh.

“Not so long ago, we did some work together and I told them it would be great to see them over there. It doesn’t look like it’s meant to be for season two, but I’m very sure season three and onwards we’ll see that Indian influence over there.”

“Not sure who we will get, but it’s definitely worth trying to get guys like MS and Virat perhaps playing in their final seasons there. We’ll look after them, you know,” added AB de Villiers while speaking to Hindustan Times.

The first season of the SA20 was played last year with six teams featuring in it. All six teams are owned by the IPL franchises. Some of the world’s leading players participated in the inaugural edition of the competition.

AB de Villiers calls SA20 second best league in the world:

AB de Villiers also called SA20 the second-best T20 league in the world, saying that it is only behind IPL in terms of popularity.

“I just think more entertainment, more dancing, more screaming, more singing. We’re on the right track. The quality of cricket is fantastic. The crowds are coming in. It’s now just to make it louder and better,” said the South African legend.