NEW DELHI: India superstar Virat Kohli on Wednesday hailed AB de Villiers as the ‘absolute number one’ after the Proteas great was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2024 has Sir Alastair Cook and India legend Neetu David as the other inductees alongside De Villiers.
Kohli and De Villiers have been close friends on and off the field for years now, the former congratulated Mr.360 on his induction in an open letter.
It has been a tradition that open letters have been written to the inductees by their close ones upon their induction.
“You are thoroughly deserving of your place – after all, the Hall of Fame is a representation of your impact on the game, and yours has been truly unique,” Kohli penned in a letter to de Villiers.
“People have always spoken about your ability, and rightly so. You are the most talented cricketer I have played with, the absolute number one.”
“But what truly stood out to me was your belief in that ability. You had a crazy amount of belief that you could execute whatever you wanted to on a cricket field, and you normally did. That is why you ended up being so special.
“There is no better example in my mind than when we were batting together for RCB in Kolkata in 2016. We were chasing 184 against an attack including Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan. You came in to join me with around 70 on the board and Narine was bowling. You played and missed a couple and told me during a timeout that you weren’t picking him too well. I felt I was, so I remember telling you to give me the strike and I would try and hit boundaries off him.
“In the first over Narine bowled after the timeout, I was ready at the non-striker’s end thinking you were definitely giving me a single. So, imagine my surprise when you back away to the leg side, Sunil follows you and you slog sweep him over square leg for a 94-metre six! I don’t know what happened in the timeout to give you the belief you could do that. I just remember saying to you, “you’re a freak!”
“Through my time playing with and against you, you always had a very clear understanding of how the game should be played and you never really veered from that, regardless of whether you were doing well or not.
“It was never about someone else. It was never about competing with another player. It was always about what impact you could create for the team. In difficult situations, you were the man bailing out your team more often than not.
“Your drive to want to be the guy to win the game for your team was tremendous and something I learned a lot from. I remember taking from you that it doesn’t matter what you have done in the last four games, it is about how you approach the game today. It is about always being positive, always taking the game on and finding a way to get the job done.
“You were always completely in tune with the needs of the team, which made you one of the hardest players to make plans for when we were on opposing sides in international cricket.
“A lot of players can have impressive numbers but very few have an impact on the psyche of those watching. For me, that is the highest value you can have as a cricketer and that is what makes you so special.
“You are in the Hall of Fame for the impact you have left on the game and I don’t think there is anything more special for a cricketer than to have that honour.
“Congratulations, biscotti. You are one of the greatest players to ever play the game,”
Kohli and de Villiers share one of the most cherished friendships. Their bond began when they played together for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite being from different countries, India and South Africa, the two cricketers quickly found common ground, not just in their passion for the game but in their mutual respect for each other’s skill, work ethic, and humility.
De Villiers bid adieu to international cricket in 2021.
