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Cricket Players'It was little bit of a shock. Thought he was going to go 1 more year': RCB star recalls de Villiers' IPL retirement
AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in November last year, ending his association with RCB, with whom he continued to play following his international retirement.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will look to get off the mark but they face a stiff challenge from Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are looking good after starting the season on a losing note. New skipper Faf du Plessis has looked in good touch alongside Dinesh Karthik and Shabaz Ahmed, but the perennial underachievers will also expect former captain Virat Kohli to rediscover his lost mojo.
PBKS vs GT Live Cricket Score, IPL 2022
Bangalore will also be boosted by the return of Glenn Maxwell, who is available for selection for his first game of the ongoing season. The Australian was of the three retained players by RCB during the IPL 2022 players' retention list along with Kohli and Mohammed Siraj.
As the power-hitter looks to repay the faith shown in him by the franchise, he has recalled joining the franchise in 2021 and sharing the dressing room with Kohli and AB de Villiers.
"We know how AB de Villiers and Virat are two peas in a pod. They're very tight and close. I tried to sort of shuffle in between and pull Ab away or Virat away at times. But it was so nice to watch the two geniuses go about it last year and become good friends with them. That was the main thing I got out last year," said Maxwell on RCB's official YouTube channel.
"I've got two guys who are two of the greatest players to play the game. Table tennis every day before the game and it got quite heated at times, but it was great fun. It was awesome to have a few drinks with Ab and discuss life. Very fortunate to have shared the dressing room with the two of them," he further added.
Maxwell, who managed to score just 108 runs with Punjab Kings in the 2020 edition, got picked by Bangalore for a whopping ₹14.25 crore in 2021. A shift helped Maxwell revive his IPL career and the all-rounder has recalled how he was left stunned by de Villiers' retirement.
The South African had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in November last year, ending his association with the Bangalore-based outfit with whom he continued to play following his international retirement.
"When AB de Villiers announced his retirement, it was a little bit of a shock as I thought he was probably going to go one more year and had everything that we expect of AB. He's still a superstar, he still played the roles for us and he was still leading by example. It's just great to have in your change room as well," said Maxwell.
Maxwell, who is currently being seen as a vital element of the Bangalore leadership bunch, missed the first few games of the ongoing season due to his marriage. He will be playing his first game of the 10-team competition on April 9 (Saturday).
