South Africa legend AB de Villiers has sensationally confirmed his plans of making a swift return to the Indian Premier League next year. For the first time since the inception of IPL in 2008, de Villiers is not a part of the tournament.
The former South Africa skipper had announced his retirement from all forms of the game after last year’s IPL. He started his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and played three seasons for them.
In 2011, de Villiers was signed up by Royal Challengers Bangalore and he went on to become one of the greatest players for the Bengaluru-based franchise. He played 11 seasons for RCB.
During his illustrious time with RCB, de Villiers played 156 games in the IPL and scored an impressive 4,491 runs with the help of 2 centuries and 37 fifties. He was recently inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame.
AB de Villiers confirms comeback:
In a sensational revelation, AB de Villiers has confirmed that he would return to the IPL next year. The legendary player, however, kept the cards close to his chest and did not reveal his role. He also stated that he would be associated with RCB only.
De Villiers’ confirmation has come just a few days after his former RCB teammate Virat Kohli confirmed that the Proteas legend would return to the IPL next year.
“I am glad to hear Virat confirmed it. To be honest, we haven’t decided on anything yet. I will definitely be around IPL next year. I am not sure in what capacity but I am missing getting back there,” de Villiers told VUSport.
“I have a heard a little bird tweeting, saying that there might be some games in Bangalore. So I would love to return to my second hometown and watch the full capacity stadium there at the Chinnaswamy again. I would love to return, I am looking forward to it,” he added.
De Villiers had helped RCB make it to the playoffs five times. He also helped RCB qualify for the IPL final twice. The 38-year old is the second all-time leading run-scorer for the franchise. He also holds the record for second and third-highest individual score for RCB with 133* against Mumbai Indians (in 2015) and 129* against Gujarat Lions (in 2016).