AB de Villiers retires as one of the greatest cricket players of all-time

Former South Africa cricket captain AB de Villiers announced his retirement from the sport this week. The cricket legend, now 37, said goodbye to international cricket in 2018, but remained a top player in the Twenty20 game around the world, competing in various competitions.

De Villiers last played cricket in October for Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premier League. The South African played 10 years for Royal Challengers Bangalore. You can search for the best betting sites India has to offer before the Indian Premier League 2022 starts next year. Don’t miss out on the websites and bonus offers available to you prior to next season’s start.

De Villiers career was littered with a success. He played in 114 cricket Test matches, 228 one-day internationals fixtures, and 78 Twenty 20 matches for South Africa. The batsman averaged over 50 in both Test and ODI cricket matches. De Villiers scored 22 centuries in the Test cricket and 25 in ODI games.

In the Twenty20 form of cricket, De Villiers tallied 9,424 runs in 340 matches. He averaged 37.24 runs and had a strike rate of 150.13. He hit four centuries and 69 half centuries during an illustrious career in the short-form of cricket.

Since 2018, De Villiers focused entirely on Twenty20 cricket. Along with playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he suited up for T20 Blast club Middlesex, Lahore Pakistan Super League team Qalandars, and Big Bash League’s Brisbane Heat.

In his final season with Royal Challengers Bangalore, De Villiers tallied 313 runs at an average of 31.3. Despite his brilliant play with the bat, De Villiers was unable to lead the team to the Indian Premier League title.

Following De Villiers’ retirement announcement, Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Virat Kohil praise the South African’s impact on the game. 

“To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I’ve met, you can be very proud of what you’ve done and what you’ve given to RCB my brother,” Kohil said. “Our bond is beyond the game and will always be. This hurts my heart but I know you’ve made the best decision for yourself and your family like you’ve always done. I love you.”

Since De Villiers announcement, many pundits and fans have labelled him as the “greatest of all-time”. His success in all forms of cricket make it difficult to argue with the assessment.

De Villiers is the Indian Premier League’s sixth highest run-getter. In addition, he is just one of two foreign Indian Premier League players to achieve 5000 runs. The number of runs De Villiers scored were just as breath-taking as how he tallied them. De Villiers put fear into opposition players when he stepped up to bat.

According to reports, De Villiers was one of the Indian Premier League’s highest earners prior to retirement. He earned around $2.1 million USD. Thanks to his endorsements and quality, De Villiers reportedly earned over $3m a season as a cricketer in his final years of play. At 37, De Villiers has hung up his bat at the peak of his powers, leaving fans with a memories of a legend at the top of his game.