On the 1st of April, Proteas star AB de Villiers joins RCB’s camp at Chennai ahead of the 14th edition of the IPL. The 37-year old batsman is the key part of the Bangalore franchise since they bought him in 2011. Having retired from international cricket in 2017, AB de Villiers still has a lot of fuel left in him. The South African was among the top 10 run-getters of the last season.
The franchise will be hoping for the same sort of performance from the seasoned campaigner. Ahead of the start of IPL 2021, AB de Villiers has named his all-time IPL 11. In an interaction with Cricbuzz, the Saffer picked his team and chose MS Dhoni over Virat Kohli for the captain’s role. ABD is playing under Virat Kohli’s captaincy in the T20 league since 2013.
AB de Villiers names his All-Time IPL 11
He also didn’t consider Rohit Sharma as his All-time XI captain. Rohit is the most successful captain in the history of the league with 5 titles in 8 seasons as Mumbai Indias’ skipper. However, AB de Villiers has named both Virat and Rohit to his team. The 38-year old left out Suresh Raina and Lasith Malinga who are considered among the best players in the history of IPL.
“Last night I was thinking that if I pick my IPL XI and I include myself, how bad would that look. So, opening the batting, I would pick someone whom I started with at Delhi, Viru (Virender Sehwag) at 1 and someone who I think has played some of the best cricket in the world in the last five years, Rohit at No. 2,” AB de Villiers told Cricbuzz.
“Then obviously Virat at No. 3, followed by I’d say either Williamson, or Smith, or myself these are the two replacements. Ben Stokes at 5, MS at six as captain, and at No. 7, I’d put Jaddu, Mr. Jadeja. Rashid Khan at 8, Bhuvi at 9, Kagiso Rabada at 10 and Bumrah at 11,” the RCB batsman further added.
ALSO READ: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Best Playing 11 for IPL 2021
Here’s His 11: Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson/Steve Smith/AB de Villiers, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni (C and WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah
AB de Villiers was among 12 players retained by the Bangalore franchise for the IPL 2021 season. Last season, the northpaw played as a wicket-keeper batsman which certainly gave an advantage to the team. South Africa batsman might bat at no.3 position in IPL 2021 if Virat Kohli decides to open.