Winning or losing World Cup wouldn't define me, says AB de Villiers

Modern master of the game, AB de Villiers, in a recent interaction revealed that a win or loss at the upcoming world cup would not define his glittering international career. Although, the Protean conceded that it would be ideal if South Africa wins the evading trophy.

The men in green, heart-breakingly, lost in the semi-finals of the tournament to New Zealand in the World Cup of 2015. De Villiers’, in his book ‘AB: The Autobiography’, dedicated a chapter, “The Dream’, termed the loss a major blow.

Prior to that, they also reached the knock-out stages of various multi-lateral tournaments without going on to win the coveted championship.  The upcoming World Cup of 2019 in England would be De Villiers’ fourth and the last.

However, in an event at Bengaluru, the Protean had a different take on his desires for the evading World Cup. “It will be nice to win it, it will be a bonus, but if I don’t, it’s not going to define my career,” commented AB de Villiers according to SACricketmag.

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After taking a long break from the longest format of the game, AB appeared fresh and hungry again in International cricket. De Villiers was one of the prolific scorers in the recently concluded home season of South African cricket.

AB scored four half-centuries and a century in the series against Australia to display his splendid form. When asked about the adjustments he had to make with the change in format in the IPL, AB stated, “I had the perfect preparation playing high-intensity cricket going into the IPL. So it’s not a big adjustment at all. ”

We get tips from each other (with Kohli) throughout our careers: AB

“I’ve been doing it for 14 years. It’s a mindset change. The basics stay the same. I’ve said it so many times before, I don’t change anything,” continued the 34-year old.

Further, Mr. 360, who scored one of his trademark knocks against Delhi Daredevils, mentioned that the basics remain the same in all formats of the game.

“I watch the ball, look at the situation of the game. In Test cricket sometimes, you also have to bat at seven or eight an over while sometimes in T20, you have to go at five an over and then accelerate. So in all the formats, the basics remain the same, it’s just the mindset change,” suggested the batsman who scored a 39-ball 90 against DD.

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In a recent interview, AB’s RCB captain Virat Kohli claimed to have taken out pointers out of AB’s batting during India’s tour to South Africa. De Villiers then went on to confirm that the two take pointers from each other and apply in their game.

“We get tips from each other throughout our careers. I have watched a lot of cricket and Virat also watches a lot. Sometimes you see something in another player that you may have forgotten about,” concluded AB de Villiers.