AB de Villiers: Mr 360

“The finest batsman of his generation” according to Virat Kohli.

“The most valuable cricketer on the planet” says Adam Gilchrist.

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, also known as AB de Villiers or AB, came in the international circuit in 2004 and retired from all forms of cricket in late 2021. He came, made his name, delighted crowds, broke and made new records, saved test matches, innovated new techniques, and has now retired after one hell of a ride. Arguably the best player across all formats; the record says it all. With high averages, strike rates and centuries. He has performed literally everywhere regardless of the situation or circumstances. There’s no place left in the cricketing world that hasn’t been invaded and crushed by AB’s power. Apart from winning a world cup or an IPL trophy AB de Villiers has raised the standards for batsmen and also the bowlers. All in all, AB will never be forgotten as his name lies alongside the greats, such as; Sir Viv Richards, Sir Donald Bradman, Kumar Sangakkara, Jacques Kallis, and of course the great Imran Khan.

AB de Villiers made his debut in international cricket way back in 2004, against England in a test match where he played as an opener. Alongside him, Dale Steyn made his debut as well and both of them went on to play for South Africa for a very long period of time. AB’s start to international cricket was just like any other player. Starting off with a struggle and then achieving a spot in the playing eleven. He scored a century in the last test match of the series against England, due to which he was able to stay in the South African Cricket Team. The period between 2004 –2008 was a period of highs and lows for AB; he scored runs but went through a rough patch. There were some instances where AB was playing for a spot in the team and every time his place in the playing eleven was at a risk, he would score and retain his position. AB de Villiers started off as an opener and then finally settled in the middle order of the batting line up where he was most comfortable and consistent. He has played at every position from No.1 to No.8 and never disappointed the selectors or his captain. He accepted every opportunity with confidence and never hesitated when asked to do something that was out of the box; such as the responsibility given to him with the wicket-keeping gloves. He was the wicket keeper that South Africa was looking for when Mark Boucher retired. The year 2008 was the year when AB changed gears. Since then, it was like a roller coaster ride whenever AB came out to bat. In 2008, AB made new personal records and also broke previous national and international records. He scored an unbeaten 217 against India in their own territory. On those slow, spinning Indian tracks which are difficult to bat on for players based outside Asia. AB, however, proved everyone wrong and became the first South African to score a double century against India. It doesn’t just end there, though. A century scored by de Villiers helped South Africa to win their first test series in England since their redemption. Scoring 174 in Leeds, where the ball swings like a pendulum, is not an easy job for anyone and almost an impossible one for T20 specialists nowadays. During this year, AB scored more than 1000 runs in a calendar year at a staggering average of 58, with centuries against all the heavy weights in their own backyard. This year was probably the best year for South Africa, AB de Villiers and their captain Graeme Smith.

Moving on, came the 2009 T20 world cup where South Africa lost in the semi-final against the under-rated Pakistan team. South Africa was in a good position but Umer Gul’s swinging yorkers made it difficult to score. AB, however, in that match was undone by Afridi’s googly and lost his wicket. This was basically the start of AB’s world cups losses and unfortunately, his dream of being a part of South Africa’s world cup winning team never ended up coming true. The one thing he was unable to achieve became a world cup or any other tournament’s trophy. In between the world cups, AB’s form sky rocketed and in 2010 he was considered as one of the best. AB remained in a constant race against the ‘heavy bearded man’ Hashim Amla for the No.1 batsman ranking. One day, it was Amla and the next weekend, AB would overtake him and take back the 1st position. It became a game of cat and mouse between the two legends of the sport.

In 2010, South Africa toured Pakistan for a test series. It was played on a neutral venue because of security reasons that were evidently only in Pakistan and not to be seen anywhere else for some reason. Therefore, due to security reasons, the series was played in UAE. During that tour, AB broke the record for the highest individual test score for South Africa. He scored 278 on a slow Abu Dhabi wicket. Later, in 2013 Amla broke his record by scoring a triple century against England. 2010 was also AB’s best year where he scored 996 runs at a good average. During 2011-2016, AB contributed to a lot in terms of South African cricket team. He scored runs, became the captain, won test matches single-handedly and saved test matches by playing at a lowest possible strike rate. He did what he was asked to do and what the situation required for him to do. He would go and start to hit every ball out of the park. Also, when the circumstances demanded for him to eat up balls without getting out, he would certainly deliver. We have seen in IPL and also in international cricket what AB was capable of. His ability to hit a yorker over the keeper’s head or a bouncer into the top tier was what made him the best of his generation. In IPL, he had an average of around 40 with a mind-boggling strike rate of 150. Additionally, his international career numbers were also extremely high, with an average of more than 50 in both ODIs and test matches, as well as a strike rate of 100 in ODIs; probably the only player with a 50 average and also a strike rate of 100 in ODIs. AB holds the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in one-day international cricket.

In 2015, he scored a century on 31 balls against the West Indies and in the same year during the world cup, AB scored the fastest 150 that too against the West Indies. The year 2015 was going well for AB and his team until the 2015 World Cup semi-final, where dreams were diminished and hearts were broken. The match against New Zealand was arguably the best match of the entire world cup. Some might say that Australia vs New Zealand was the best, but no one could deny the fact that every cricket fan around the globe had their heart in their mouths. In short, South Africa choked and AB was unable to handle the world cup pressure. Even though he played an excellent inning, which helped South Africa reach a mammoth total. But when South Africa came out to ball, AB made mistakes with his field placements and his bowling decisions. Also, he missed a run out opportunity which cost them the world cup. The world cup pressure was too much for AB and his team. The opposition’s credit goes to Brendon McCullum because his strategic game. AB continued playing excellent cricket for South Africa after the world cup, but he was never like before. He had some bad series in the middle, especially in test cricket, as well as a bad patch in India and also against England in South Africa, which led to a decline in form and it became obvious that he needed a break from cricket. AB retired from test cricket in late 2016, but made a comeback in 2018. He went through a period of uncertainty, when he was making a comeback and also retiring from international cricket, as wasn’t sure what to do because of excessive work load.

He ended up opting not to play the 2019 world cup and retire. However, he kept playing franchise cricket and kept entertaining the crowd especially in IPL. Then eventually in November 2021, AB announced his retirement from all forms of cricket at the age of 37. In many people’s opinions, AB should have played the 2019 world cup and also the 2021 world cup but he choose not to. He turned towards franchise cricket which had the shortest format and also a high demand for his batting. At the end of AB’s career, AB had many records to his name but there are some small records to his name that many might not know of. For instance, he has played the greatest number of test innings before the first duck in test career which is 78 innings. He holds the second most test consecutive appearances since his debut and has his name at the 3rd position for most test runs for South Africa.