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AB de Villiers: Mr. 360 Degree
What would the Indian T20 League have been without the presence of the cricket Superman, AB de Villiers? Mr. 360 Degree is a fan favorite not only at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, but all over the cricketing world. He is one of the few active players who have been part of the Indian T20 League since its inception in 2008.
A modern-day cricket legend, de Villiers announced his arrival in the 2007 World Cup. The batting genius plundered 372 runs in the tournament, which included a sensational 146 (130) against the hosts West Indies. He played an instrumental role in the Proteas’ entry into the semi-finals. And just a year later, in the 2008 auction, he was purchased by Team Delhi for ₹1.2 crore.
In 2009, when the T20 league was moved to South Africa, de Villiers smashed a superb century against Team Chennai in Durban. But it was only when he was pouched by Team Bangalore before the 2011 edition for ₹5 crore that he truly lit the league.
Let's go back to 2015. De Villiers has destroyed Team Mumbai’s bowling attack and smashed 133* runs off just 59 balls. Ricky Ponting, Team Mumbai's coach, looks back at Jonty Rhodes, who is standing behind him, at the end of the innings. He explains how each shot was played in the gap. “That’s not luck. That is genius,†he said. Six years down the line and three years after his retirement, that genius is still intact in him. If he had not decided to retire from international cricket prematurely, he could have easily played the 2019 World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup for South Africa.
Kieron Pollard likes to hit the ball straight. Andre Russell fancies hitting the ball in the midwicket area. But for de Villiers, it’s the entire ground. He has played many match-winning innings for Bangalore and shown some destructive batting, especially in the death overs.
De Villiers has scored 875 runs at death since 2019, the third-best, among the current generation of T20 superstars, which include the likes of Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, despite playing far less games than anyone else in the top. He is also called "Aapadh Baandhava de Villiers" by Bangalore cricket fans, which means the savior.
AB de Villiers’s Personal Details
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- Name
- :
- AB de Villiers
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- Date of Birth
- :
- 17th Feb 1984
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- Birthplace
- :
- Pretoria
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- Height
- :
- 5′10″
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- Batting Style
- :
- Right-handed batter
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- Playing Role
- :
- Top-order batter
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- Teams Played For
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- South Africa, Team Delhi, Team Bangalore, Brisbane H, Middlesex, Lahore Qalandars, Tshwane Spartans
AB AB de Villiers’s Current Rankings
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T20 -- -
ODI -- -
Test --
AB de Villiers’s Career Summary
-
- Format
- M
- Inn
- Runs
- HS
- Avg
- SR
- 100
- 200
- 50
- 4s
- 6s
- CT
-
- Test
- 114
- 191
- 8765
- 278 vs. Pak
- 50.66
- 54.52
- 22
- 2
- 46
- 1024
- 64
- 222
-
- ODI
- 228
- 218
- 9577
- 176 vs. Ban
- 53.5
- 101.1
- 25
- 0
- 53
- 840
- 204
- 176
-
- T20I
- 78
- 75
- 1672
- 79 vs. Eng
- 26.12
- 135.17
- 0
- 0
- 10
- 140
- 60
- 66
AB De Villiers - Key Skills and Strength
In his autobiography, de Villiers details his knock that broke the record for the fastest ODI hundred, in the 2015 home series against the West Indies. He discusses how he anticipates the bowler based on field settings, the bowler's specialties, and other available information. "I usually leave myself with three to four shot options and I pick one when I see the length," de Villiers explains in his book.
He is also nicknamed Superman for his acrobatic batting and fielding. The catch that he took to dismiss Team Hyderabad’s Alex Hales in the 2018 edition of the Indian T20 League is still etched in the memory of cricket fans. De Villiers leaped on the deep midwicket boundary to stop a ball on its way to a certain six and catch Hales. The freakish catch even left Virat Kohli in awe of his counterpart. After the game ended, Kohli said, “You don’t do that until you are a normal human being. He can do freakish things.â€
AB de Villiers Captaincy Record
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- Format
- Matches
- Won
- Lost
- Tie
- NR
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- ODI
- 103
- 59
- 39
- 1
- 1
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- T20I
- 18
- 8
- 9
- 0
- 1
AB de Villiers Awards and Achievements
Interestingly, the modern day white-ball legend was equally brilliant in the red-ball format. You may know de Villiers for his destructive batting, but if the situation needs it, he can also grind and frustrate the opposition. In the 2012-13 away series against Australia, he batted so cautiously and slowly that he made just 33 runs off 220 balls and effected one of the most exciting draws of all time.
Here are de Villiers’s major records and achievements in international cricket:
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De Villiers holds the record for scoring the fastest 50, fastest 100 and fastest 150 in ODI cricket. He scored 150 off just 64 balls in the 2015 World Cup against the West Indies and in the process helped South Africa post a score of 408, their second-highest total in World Cup history. Interestingly, he shattered the record for scoring the fastest 100 against the same opposition.
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De Villiers was the first South African to score a double century against India. He achieved the feat with an unbeaten 217 in the 2008 Ahmedabad Test.
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In the 2012-13 season, AB de Villiers took 11 catches against Pakistan at Johannesburg, equaling the record for most catches by a wicketkeeper in a Test match. He shares the record with former England wicketkeeper Jack Russell. He also scored an unbeaten 103 in South Africa's second innings, making him the first wicketkeeper in history to score a century and effect 10 dismissals in a Test match.
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He also holds the record for second-highest individual score by a South African in Tests. He scored a superb unbeaten 278 in the 2010 Test series against Pakistan.
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He was named ICC ODI Player of the Year 3 times (2010, 2014 and 2015), the joint-most by any cricketer along with Virat Kohli.
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It took just 44 balls for de Villiers to break Rohit Sharma’s record of hitting most sixes (16) in an ODI.
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AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli are the only batters (with minimum 2000 runs) to average over 50 in both Test and ODI cricket. De Villiers has a Test average of 50.66 and an ODI average of 53.50.
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De Villiers holds the record for playing the most Test innings without scoring a duck. He finally fell for 0 against Bangladesh in his 79th innings.
AB de Villiers’s Indian T20 League Journey
De Villiers’s success story in the Indian T20 League began with Delhi, the team he spent his formative years with. In 2009, he amassed 465 runs and was the highest run scorer for Delhi that season. His game evolved to new heights when he joined the Bangalore team. For three seasons, he was the leading run scorer for the team and was a consistent name in the top three run scorers since joining in 2011.
Here are some of de Villiers’s biggest achievements in the Indian T20 League:
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De Villiers is one of the only 6 players who have scored over 5,000 runs in the Indian T20 League.
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De Villiers has tonked 247 sixes in the league, the second-highest in the league after Chris Gayle (357)
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His 133* against Team Mumbai is the third-highest individual score in the league’s history.
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Among all the batters who have played 150 or more matches, de Villiers has the highest strike rate (152.24).
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As of 2021, he holds the record for most Player of the Match awards (25) in the league.
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His 229-run partnership with Virat Kohli against Gujarat in 2016 is the only double-century partnership in the league’s history.
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- Format
- M
- Runs
- HS
- Avg
- SR
- 100
- 50
- 4s
- 6s
- CT
-
- Indian T20 League
- 179
- 5079
- 133 vs. Mumbai
- 39.99
- 152.24
- 3
- 40
- 407
- 247
- 84
AB de Villiers: FAQs
De Villiers is nicknamed Mr. 360 because of his ability to play shots all around the wicket. He is an attacking batter capable of playing a variety of unconventional shots.
AB de Villiers’s estimated net worth is said to be around ₹148 crore ($21 million). He earns ₹11 crore per season in the Indian T20 league.
Not many people know that de Villiers is not a jack but a master of all trades. He has his own band in South Africa and has appeared in numerous songs, which can be found on Youtube. In 2010, he released his first album titled “Maak Jou Drome Waar,†which also features his friend Ampie Du Preez.
De Villiers has scored 3 centuries so far in the league.
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