Former Proteas skipper Ab de Villiers has denied the reports of him being part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the next season of the Indian Premier League and admitted that he would love to associate with the team in the future as he still got a love for the game.
After the appointment of Andy Flower as the head coach of the team for the IPL 2024 season. It is reported about the potential involvement of the franchise stalwart Ab de Villiers in the coaching setup as he can be a mentor in the team for the next season of the cash-rich league which was denied by him.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ab de Villiers revealed that he didn’t have any discussion with the teams regarding his involvement in the IPL 2023 and said that he is not ready to join any team environment at the moment after playing the game for 20 long years even though he had retired from the game in quite some time.
“I’ve not been in discussions with anyone whatsoever. The interest is there, I am just not ready yet and that’s from my heart. I am an RCB boy; I am not ready to join any team environment yet. I’ve recently retired. Even though it’s quite a long time now, it’s still recent in my mind,” Ab de Villiers said.
Ab de Villiers played for RCB from 2011 to 2018 and became one of the most celebrated players in the league. With his incredible batting skills and ability to change the game in a matter of overs and he can pass on his knowledge to the youngsters in the team but is not ready to take up any role with the team at the moment.
For Now, It’s Just Different Priorities For Me – Ab de Villiers
Ab De Villiers said that he will be working with the teams in the future as he had been in the team environment for over 20 long years staying in the hotels and playing games and asserted that the priorities have changed a bit for him at the moment as they want to spend time on his own thing next a year or two.
“The thought of me getting on a team bus in the near future, staying at the team hotel, I have done that for most of my life. I had a 20-year-old career where that’s all that mattered. For now, it’s just different priorities for me. I am trying to get away from that team bus for a little bit and do my own thing for a year or two,” Ab de Villiers added.
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. De Villiers had helped RCB make it to the playoffs five times and would look to associate with the franchise in the future in some capacity.