Maybe I would have never played for India – AB de Villiers

South Africa’s former captain AB de Villiers feels if he had grown up in India, may he would have never played for the country.

It is well known that there is a lot of competition to get into the Indian national team as there is an abundance of talent. AB reckons one has to be really special if he is selected to play for the Indian team.

Meanwhile, AB de Villiers also recalled his time of playing in the Indian Premier League. The Proteas batter played mostly for Royal Challengers Bangalore and played some breathtaking knocks in his career. Overall, AB amassed 5162 runs in 184 IPL matches at an impressive average of 39.71 and a blistering strike rate of 151.69.

The right-hander also always played the game in the right spirit and had a huge fan following in India. De Villiers received a lot of love and admiration from the Indian crowd even he was playing for South Africa in Indian conditions.

Speaking on the RCB podcast, de Villiers said, “I have had the privilege of experiencing IPL Cricket, the Indian crowd, and the Indian way of doing things for the last 15 years. Obviously growing up in India would have been interesting. Maybe I would have never played for India, who knows. It is tough to make it to the Indian team; you have to be a special player.”

AB added that it was a life-changing experience to play for RCB as he played for the Bangalore-based franchise for more than a decade.

“RCB to me is family. I mean it has been a life-changing 10-11 years to me. Like any other family, there are ups and downs. There are beautiful, they’re amazing rides, there’s a bit of everything. There are good relationships and then there are those which go sour and that is all part of the fun. I look back with no regrets. I think back on my career at RCB as the most amazing years of my life,” said de Villiers.

Meanwhile, before joining RCB in 2011, AB de Villiers played for Delhi Daredevils (Delhi Capitals). AB decided to call it a day from all forms of the game in 2021 and he could take up a support staff role with the franchise.