Shoaib Akhtar, PSL
Shoaib Akhtar [Image Credits: Google]

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar revealed that he was very confident about the impending greatness of South African player, AB de Villiers, claiming that he was convinced the latter would become one of the greats of the game.

De Villiers is recognized as one of the greatest batters in the game but he was yet to bloom when the IPL was introduced. He was part of the Delhi Daredevils squad in the inaugural edition where Akhtar told him he will become the future leader of the South African team.

I met him during IPL back in 2008. It was at a function, at a private ceremony. And I told him that he is a great player and asked him to get prepared to captain the South African team. I told him that he would become one of the greatest players ever,” Akhtar said in a conversation with Sportskeeda.

AB de Villiers, ODI World Cup 2015
AB de Villiers (Image Credit: Twitter)

De Villiers went on to join Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2011 season and thus began one of the most exciting IPL careers. Alongside Virat Kohli, he managed to light up the league but was unfortunate to not land an IPL trophy.

“Fortunately, whenever I faced him I managed to dismiss him” – Shoaib Akhtar

Akhtar said that his pace was troubling de Villiers in the early stages and resulted in easy dismissals for the Pakistani speedster. In total, Akhtar has dismissed the former Proteas player four times in 10 innings across formats.

Fortunately, whenever I faced him I managed to dismiss him and at times I even felt that I could dismiss him easily. Then when he came to IPL, he tried to play the pull shot, but I knew that he would be late because there was a lot of pace on my delivery.”

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AB de Villiers, IPL,RCB
AB de Villiers (Image Credit: Twitter)

And that is exactly what happened. He said that on Twitter that he is still having nightmares. I was sad and angry when he announced his retirement,” Akhtar added.

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