In Indian Premier League (IPL) surely, Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) had the deadly trio of Virat Kohli, AB de Villers and Chris Gayle in the top, till the 2018 edition after that Gayle left the RCB squad. But during that phase when these three used to play together, the Bengaluru-based side reached finals once and finished in the third spot in the previous edition in 2015.
de Villiers joined RCB in the 2011 season, he recalled his first meet with the former Indian skipper, veteran South African batter revealed that he found Kohli ‘cocky and arrogant’ when he first met him, Gayle also added that the Ex- SA skipper was not fond of the star Indian batter at that time.
Gayle and ABD during their conversation on the RCB’s YouTube video revealed-
“Oh my goodness…I have had this question before and I had given this answer before as well. I think he was quite cocky and arrogant when I met him the first time. With that hairstyle and he had bit of a strut going,” said veteran SA cricketer.
“Flamboyant, was he?” added Gayle, while laughing.
while both legends were officially inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame on March 26 and were presented with a Medal of Honour each in front of a packed crowd. RCB superstar Kohli and current captain Faf du Plessis also shared the stage with AB and Gayle on the occasion.
“Yes absolutely,” replied De Villiers to Gayle
“But the minute I got to know him a bit better and watched him play I mean I’ve got as much respect for him but I got to know him better as a human being. I think he had a barrier around him when I met him the first time and that barrier opened up and I got to know the person. I didn’t not like him but you know what I’m saying. He’s a top person now but first impression was ufff…he’s got to come down to earth a bit,” AB further added.
Meanwhile, RCB retired Gayle and de Villiers’ jerseys with numbers 333 and 17, respectively, as a mark of respect. The duo plied their trade for the franchise for a long time and are two of the most successful batsmen in the history of the league.
De Villiers hit 4491 runs, including 2 hundred, for RCB in 156 matches that spanned between 2011 and 2021. On the other hand, Gayle scored 3163 runs, including 5 hundred, in 83 matches for RCB between 2011 and 2017.De Villiers retired from all cricket in 2022, while Gayle last played an IPL match in the 2021 season, only Indian star batter is active and will play the 16th edition of IPL for RCB.
The Bengaluru-based side is one of the only three sides who are playing in the league since the inaugural season and are yet to win it. While in the IPL 2023, the Bengaluru-based side will play in front of the full-packed Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore after a three-year gap. Faf du Plessis-led side will open their campaign in IPL 2023 on April 2 when they will lock horns against Mumbai Indians (MI).