AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith
AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith. Image-PA Sports

Director of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Graeme Smith has showered praise on legendary Proteas batsman AB de Villiers and said that he was in a class of his own. De Villiers is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time to step foot into the international cricket scene.

With his aggressive gameplay and ability to adapt to any condition, he became a dominant force in world cricket. Meanwhile, He announced his retirement from international cricket in May 2018, after representing South Africa in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is and scoring 20,014 runs across all formats.

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

Also, on Friday the 37-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, and he will no longer be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and all the other franchise cricket leagues in the world.

I Was Fortunate Enough To Not Only Play With Him But To Captain Him – Graeme Smith On AB de Villiers

Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former South Africa captain Smith said that he was fortunate to captain AB de Villiers during his tenure as a skipper.

It’s safe to say that AB is in a class of his own, I was fortunate enough to not only play with him but to captain him as well. Always a team man, AB was never afraid to step up to the plate in whatever capacity his team needed him in,” he asserted.

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Graeme Smith believes that De Villiers did everything a team asked him to do whether it’s bowling, batting, fielding or wicketkeeping.

He has batted, bowled and kept wicket for SA with the same passion and drive he puts into every task requested of him. We won’t even mention the outstanding fielder that he was on top of it all,” he said.

Graeme Smith, IPL, Cricket South Africa, Cricket Australia, ICC
Cricket South Africa director Graeme Smith [Image Credits: AFP]
Graeme Smith further added that AB de Villiers’ fans and teammates will definitely miss his presence and he is one of the most beloved members of South Africa cricket.

It won’t just be fans of SA cricket who will miss his presence on any and every cricket surface in the world, but his fans and former teammates from around the world too.

“He is one of SA cricket’s most beloved products and we are proud of how he has represented his country, whether in or out of Proteas clothing. I’m certain this won’t be the last we will see of AB and I wish him all the best for all of his future endeavours,” he added.

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Sonanchal Gautam is the Assistant Content Manager at Cricketaddictor. He is a professional Wrestling and Hip-hop enthusiast.