IND vs WI: Bothering Me For Ages - AB de Villiers On Incident Of Hardik Pandya Not Letting Tilak Varma Complete His Fifty

Former Indian cricketer AB de Villiers wasn’t amazed by criticism of Hardik Pandya for not letting Tilak Varma complete his fifty during the third T20I against West Indies at Guyana. He said that this thing has been bothering him for ages because these landmarks don’t matter at all.

Hardik Pandya was at the receiving end of a lot of skewering after he left Tilak Varma stranded on 49 and hit the six to win the game for his team. After being 2-0 down in the series, India made a remarkable comeback in the third game and won the game by 7 wickets.

While chasing the target of 150 runs, India was cruising and was 158/3 in 17.3 overs. Tilak Varma took the single on the fourth ball and reached 49. It was expected that skipper Hardik Pandya would take a single or block the ball to allow the youngster to complete his fifty.

But this wasn’t the case as Hardik Pandya smashed six on the fifth ball and finished the game, leaving Tilak Varma stranded on 49. After that many fans and pundits lashed out at the all-rounder for his antics and even highlighted how MS Dhoni during his time allowed young Virat Kohli to finish the game by defending the ball in a T20I game.

AB de Villiers said that it doesn’t matter if a player gets 50 or 100 and said that commentators are guilty of this obsession with personal landmarks.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained: “It doesn’t matter if you get 50 or 100 or 150 or 200. Who cares if you get five or 10 wickets? Who will care if your teammate is next to you who knows that you played for the team? You got the two important wickets of the day. Yes, your name will not be on a board, but you committed to a game plan.

“You got the important wickets, which ultimately contributed to your team winning the match. It [obsession with personal landmarks] has been bothering me for ages. Commentators are guilty of this. They push it. It’s not about stats or milestones, it’s about players who are committed to play for the team.”

IND vs WI: Players who don’t play for milestones are my favourite and I rate them highly – AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers further went on to say that he rates only those players who don’t play for milestones and are committed to the team’s cause.

He explained: “Doesn’t matter what he gets – 30 or 60. Was there pressure on him? Yes. He committed to the team. When he walks off into the room, I can say, ‘That was a good knock or well bowled there because you didn’t play for yourself’. Those are the cricketers that I rate the most – the highest of them all.”

The series between India and West Indies currently stands at 2-2. The final game between the two teams will take place on Sunday (13th August) in Florida.