AB De Villiers in RCB
AB De Villiers in RCB. Image Credits: Twitter

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, will kick off on 31st December, with the opening match between Gujarat Titans (GT) and  Chennai Super Kings (CSK). It is the 16th edition of IPL, and if it is said to make the all-time IPL XI list, Abraham Benjamin de Villiers, formerly known as AB De Villiers will surely find his name in it.

De Villiers picked his best T20 player as Rashid Khan, it was shocking because the South African batter played his maximum stint for Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB), so it was expected that he would choose his Banglore teammates like Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle for best T20 player.

Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan. Image Credits Twitter

De Villiers also known as Mr. 360, on his favourite T20 player-

“My greatest T20 player of all time is none other than Rashid Khan,”

“He delivers with bat and ball. Match winner in both departments; he is a livewire in the field and has got the heart of a lion. He always wants to win; he’s very competitive, and he’s right there with one of the best T20 players. Not one of the best, the best,” said the former South African skipper.

Rashid Khan is surely one of the top all-rounders in the world at this moment, he has the ability to pick wickets at any surface and can hit miles while batting. Rashid plays all over the world in different T20 leagues from IPL, and BBL to PSL, but the leg spinner started his journey in the Indian T20  league with SRH in 2017, he bagged 17 wickets in 14 matches in his debut season.

The Afghani cricketer is currently playing for Lahore Qalandars in the ongoing Pakistan’s T20 League (PSL). The wrist spinner is also the in the third spot in the highest wicket-taker list in T20Is, with 126 wickets in 77 games. The 24-year-old leads his national side in 20 overs format.

In the last year IPL in 2022, when two new teams were getting added to the league, Rashid Khan was roped by one of the debutant franchises, Gujarat Titans. It turn out the best decision for Rashid as he won his first IPL title in the last edition with the Gujarat-based side, apart from his all-around performance, he was the vice-captain for Titans in their title victory journey.

The crafty spinner picked 19 wickets from 16 matches in the last edition IPL. While batting the lower-order batter smashed nine sixes, it will interesting to see if defending champions will be able to repeat their glory again in IPL 16 in 2023.

Also read: ‘Not Even Showing Any Sort Of Concern’: Ricky Ponting Opens Up On Virat Kohli’s Poor Form In Tests