There was no bigger entertainer than AB de Villiers. His audacious strokeplay in white ball cricket and the counter-attacking innings under pressure for South Africa in Test cricket are now part of cricketing folklore. He never pursued numbers or records, retiring before scaling the 10k peaks in Tests and ODIs. What separated him from the rest was his daring 360-degree strokeplay. In the IPL, he wowed the Indian crowds with his breath-taking skills as chants of 'AB, AB' reverberated around the stadiums. In a bid to give something back to India, de Villiers is collaborating with an NGO, Make a Difference, to mentor underprivileged children in India.
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli (Twitter)
Having spent more than 15 years as a top-flight cricket professional, he understands the demands of the sport, having himself taken a couple of breaks to extend his career. In an interview, he shares his views on the various aspects of the game:
We have known you for playing some fine innings under pressure in the most testing of conditions against top bowlers. How did you counter those difficult situations in cricket?
I think it has a lot to do with how I was brought up with two older brothers. I was always the odd one out: my brothers are six and nine years older than me. I always had to sort of play under pressure and perform way above my ability. It felt familiar to me when I played under pressure against some of the best bowlers in the world, I always related to when I was growing up with my two elder brothers. It is a situation where you probably shouldn’t come out on top and for some reason, it felt familiar to me in Test and international cricket.
You were an entertainer, what was your approach to batting? Were records and milestones important?
It has always been to play for the team, to have an impact. There is always something more important than the individual. As long as you can play your role to the best of your ability, you can sort of help the bigger purpose come together. That is how I played my cricket. And that’s also given me a lot of joy to stop before a lot of milestones because my heart spoke to me. It wasn’t about the numbers.
There’s no one better to talk about T20 cricket than you. We are seeing a slightly different approach from India in batting. They are trying to attack from the first over. Is that the best way, how do you look at that approach?
I think any format you play at any level, it’s about adapting and understanding the situation. You can’t just go out there and say 'this is the way I am going to play no matter what.'. I truly don’t believe in that. The game has evolved too much. There are too many different variables, the wicket conditions and different bowlers you will face, different pressures. I would say, it may be a good idea to be positive under pressure when you are feeling the heat, but it’s more mindset than actually going out there and hitting the ball in an aggressive manner. You have to play what you are confronted with. You can think positively. But that’s where I would leave it.
Similarly, I think about the English Test team at the moment publicly stating that no matter what they are going to play positive Test cricket, just hit the ball. I don’t think it is sustainable. You have to hit what is in front of you.
You had also taken brief breaks from cricket and then returned, first after playing 98 straight Test matches. Did it help? How does it help?
There is no right or wrong. Every player is different, so I can’t compare my situation with anyone else. Every country is different, every Board is different. The pressure that you feel as a player is different. Some Boards have better support than others, sometimes I felt lonely, I felt that captaining all three formats of the game is a lot of pressure on an individual and disappointments (add to it). A big disappointment perhaps (for me was) the 2015 World Cup, which I had worked towards my whole life (SA lost in the semifinal to New Zealand). I was probably not ready to move on. I, however, had the ability to just say this: ‘I am taking time out. I don’t care what anyone says, that’s what my heart is telling me.’
How do you look at Kohli's decision to take a break? Will it help him?
The way I know him, he has followed his heart so I am very happy for him. I can’t comment on it too much because we hadn’t had the discussion yet, on why and where he is doing it. But I am happy for him, I am pretty sure he has followed his heart and he is in a good place.
You played the most daring strokes against fast bowlers, the one which stands out is bending on one knee and lifting the ball at the last-minute right in front of your nose, tapping it over the keeper’s head or the man at short fine leg? How did execute that?
Any delivery is scary when a fast bowler is bowling to you. Mitchell Johnson is bowling to you, you always feel threatened. The answer to that is throughout my career there are different strokes that have worked at certain times. You will see that I didn’t play that stroke as often in the last two years because I didn’t feel as confident with it anymore, same with any other stroke. Sometimes, the cover drive is my favourite shot and I will really maximise that. I will play it a lot in a game, the minute I don’t feel confident in it anymore, I will put it in my bag and move on. Same with spinners, I used to flick it over midwicket quite a lot for four to five years, then I got out a couple of times and never played that again. It is completely just a matter of being honest with yourself, what strokes are working in certain situations and then sticking to it. As long as you are honest and genuine with yourself, and you can adapt, you are going to be a successful batter.
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