Sunil Gavaskar Loves Watching RCB’s AB de Villiers Bat

Jun 3, 2021 at 2:37 PM

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Sunil Gavaskar Loves Watching RCB’s AB de Villiers Bat

Sunil Gavaskar, legendary former Indian skipper, and opener turned commentator unlike many from his generation, is a fan of T20 cricket. He listed out certain aspects that make the format interesting.

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar, the first player to score 10000 runs in Test cricket, said that he, at times, is left speechless watching some of the extravagant shots batsmen play in T20 cricket.

Sunil Gavaskar. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Sunil Gavaskar. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Sunil Gavaskar Loves Watching T20s Since It’s A 3 Hour Game And One Gets A Result In A Action Packed Game And Wants To Bat Like RCB Mainstay AB de Villiers

Sunil Gavaskar belongs from an era where batting in Test match cricket very much meant playing sedately. However, not hiding his fondness towards batting in modern-day cricket, Sunil Gavaskar is a big fan of the way batting has evolved, especially in the T20s.

“I know a lot of people who played around my time, they’re not happy with the T20 format, but I actually love it. I love it for the simple reason that you know it’s a 3-hour game, and you get a result, and you get to see so much action.

“When somebody plays the switch hit and the reverse sweep, I’m out of my chair because I think those are fabulous and incredible shots, and it takes a lot of skill to be able to hit them for sixes,” Sunil Gavaskar said on The Analyst Inside podcast.

AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers (Image Credit: Twitter)

In his own era, players rarely hit the ball in the air, whereas in T20s it is just the opposite. Yet Sunil Gavaskar is a big fan. Asked about one player he would have wanted to bat like, he came up with a rather expected answer.

The 71-year-old was asked one batsman he wishes to bat as, and he named the former South Africa captain. Sunil Gavaskar heaped huge praises on the 360-degree range of the Royal Challengers Bangalore stalwart. Further, he talked about how AB de Villiers “makes it look so simple” and elegant, and on his exquisite batting technique.

Sunil Gavaskar Wants To Bat Like AB de Villiers Who Makes It Look Simple

Recently, AB de Villiers was in terrific form in the IPL 2021, which now will resume in September-October in the UAE. The right-hander often performed the rescuing task for RCB in the second half of the innings – he had scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 164.29 so far, averaging 51.75 in 7 games.

“AB de Villiers… bat like him, you know 360 degrees, play everything. I mean, just make it look as if you’re having a net. He makes it look so simple. He hits a fair distance, and he is very elegant as well. When he hits some of those shots, I love how his bat’s follow-through goes right over the shoulder. It’s not one of those punches; it’s like a proper shot. I love watching him bat” the former India captain explained.

AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers. Image Credits: Twitter

Recently, there were calls of AB de Villiers returning to international cricket, but South Africa coach Mark Boucher cleared the air and confirmed that the 37-year-old is not making a comeback. He also listed out the potential reason for AB de Villiers’ decision. Mark Boucher went on to say that, though AB de Villiers was in talks with the management, he decided otherwise and did not want to take up the place of a deserving youngster.

AB de Villiers is 6th on the list of maximum run-getters in the history of IPL and has amassed 5056 runs in 176 games averaging 40.7 7 with 3 tons and 40 fifties. The list is headed by RCB skipper and Indian captain Virat Kohli who has 6076 runs on his belt. AB de Villiers announced his international retirement in 2018.

It was during the 2019 World Cup that the idea of AB de Villiers’ potential return first floated. South Africa performed awfully in the 2019 World Cup, becoming the second team after Afghanistan to be knocked out. AB de Villiers has played 114 Tests scoring 8765 runs averaging 50.66 and 228 ODIs scoring 9577 runs averaging 53.5. He also featured in 78 T20Is where he averaged a modest 26.12.

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