ICC World Cup 2023: AB de Villiers Names Virat Kohli As His Favourite Batting Partner, Says 'We Were Both Very Intense'

Former South Africa skipper, AB de Villiers named the Indian cricket superstar, Virat Kohli as his favorite batting partner in T20I. The two had made many stirring partnerships in Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Bangalore-based franchise.

The 34-year-old Indian cricketer, Virat Kohli is considered the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) legend, for his legacy in the team from the very first season of the IPL, but unluckily the player has never got a chance to win the trophy.

In the history of the IPL, the two RCB legends, AB de Villiers and Virat hold the two highest partnerships. In 2016, ABD and Kohli made 229 runs against Gujarat Lions in front of their home crowd at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The other one was against the Mumbai-based franchise in 2015 when they played a 215-run knock in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

The former Indian skipper was in his best form in the IPL 2023, he played in 14 league matches and scored 639 runs with a strike rate of 139.82. Kohli hammered two centuries and six half-centuries in the 16th edition of the IPL. With 7263 runs from 237 matches, Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli is the top run-scorer in IPL.

However, the Indian cricketer will be playing a crucial role in the upcoming ODI World Cup for the Men in Blues to end their 10-year trophyless spell.

Our personalities and our way of playing clashed a little bit: AB de Villiers on Virat Kohli

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, ABD said that he loved playing with Hashim Amla for South Africa. But in the 20-over format, the former Proteas skipper said it is Virat Kohli without any doubt.

The 39-year-old former South African player said that both of them wanted to snatch the game away from their opponents and it sounds like a dream partnership.

“I absolutely loved batting with Hashim Amla for the Proteas. I think we got some incredible partnerships together. In T20 cricket and IPL, definitely Virat Kohli. Our personalities and our way of playing clashed a little bit. We were both very intense. Both wanted to take the game away from the opposition immediately, which sounds like the dream partnership,” said ABD.

AB de Villiers said that sometimes they clashed but they knew each other so well they used to find a way to understand each other and make things work.

“Sometimes it clashes, but Virat and I know each other so well, we managed to find a way to make it work because we understand each other’s game so well. I know him so well off the field, we found a way to make that clash of personalities,” De Villiers added.

The former South African skipper talked about their famous partnership in Mumbai and Bengaluru and later added that they played for the team and that nothing else mattered.

“Sometimes, we would go too hard. He would get out, I would get out and all of a sudden RCB would be 30/3. Virat and I were fifth-sixth gear all the way guys, which paid off sometimes. In the IPL, I can think of that 200 partnership in Mumbai. At the Chinnaswamy, another 200 partnerships. We always played for the team and nothing else mattered,” the 39-year-old further added.

India will start their ODI World Cup journey against Australia on October 8th at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Men in Blues will play against South Africa on November 5th at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.