AB de Villiers came out in Virat Kohli’s support, suggesting that the former India captain often faces undue criticism.
As the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) approaches, all eyes, as expected, are on Virat Kohli. With the IPL 2025 opener looming, the biggest question is how the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star will tackle the season, now that he’s retired from international T20Is. Last year, the right-hander faced flak from some quarters over his strike rate, with his outings against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur drawing particular scrutiny from pundits.
Though Kohli notched up runs in both matches, his approach left fans and analysts wanting more. Despite batting in favourable conditions, he didn’t unleash the aggression many expected, and RCB’s losses in those games only fuelled the debate around his scoring tempo. The scrutiny intensified as the T20 World Cup squad selection neared, with critics questioning whether Kohli still had the intent and firepower to dominate from start to finish.
AB de Villiers, the South African and RCB icon – and a close friend of Kohli – came out in his support, suggesting that the former India captain often faces undue criticism. He also noted how the ‘outside noise’ occasionally gets under Kohli’s skin. Last season, Kohli didn’t shy away from addressing the chatter. In post-match presentations, he made it clear he’s attuned to the media buzz, even taking aim at commentators with a pointed remark: it’s easy to critique from a box, far removed from the heat of the battle on the field.
“I feel Virat’s taken unnecessary criticism over the last few seasons. I feel he’s batting incredibly well. There’s no doubt some of the outside noise has maybe influenced him a bit. We’re all human, after all. There was lots of outside noise in my playing days that had an effect on me, not necessarily my performance, but you do think about it. You’re only human,” said AB de Villiers during Star Sports Press Room on Explosive Rankings while replying to a Hindustan Times query.
“You go to your hotel room and think, am I still good enough? Should I still be here? Must I ask the coach to maybe bat in a different position? Am I doing the right thing for the team? So Virat, being a great team-man and only a human being after all, definitely has those doubts in his head. But the one thing about Virat is he’s always had the ability to, when it matters most, cross that line for his team, block everything out, and it’s business time. You could see the focus in his eyes at the Champions Trophy.”
de Villiers also believes Virat has much left in the tank despite his retirement from T20Is. “And yes, he might have called retirement on international T20 cricket, but I feel there’s plenty left in the tent for Virat, especially with a batting line-up. RCB has got this season. I don’t think Virat’s going to feel a lot of pressure. He can just really go out there and play what he sees in front of him. And that is when Virat is at his absolute best when he plays the situation,” he said.
de Villiers also reckons Virat Kohli doesn’t need to be too concerned with his strike rate this season as Phil Salt will do the bulk of the job.
“Virat seems to be enjoying his cricket. I don’t think he’s going to have to up his strike rate batting with Phil Salt. He is one of the most attacking players we’ve ever seen. I think he’s going to take a lot of pressure off Virat. Virat needs to continue what he’s been doing for so many years, control the game, play smart cricket,” he said.
“He’s got the best instinct of any player out there. He knows when to up the ante a bit and when to lower it. Virat needs to be the captain of the batting department in this tournament and really just keep things together, play smart cricket to make sure they don’t find those collapses in the batting order,” he added.
Rajat Patidar needs to be wary of ‘insecurities’
AB de Villiers also expressed admiration for Rajat Patidar’s unexpected appointment as RCB captain. Many fans had assumed Virat Kohli would take the reins, especially after the franchise parted ways with Faf du Plessis. Yet, RCB stunned everyone by handing the leadership role to the Madhya Pradesh batter instead. The former South Africa captain believes Patidar needs to throw insecurities out of the equation and focus on the job at hand.
“I think his biggest challenge will just be insecurity. Stepping into the big booths of the past captains like Virat, having Virat around and constantly almost doubting yourself. Am I doing the right thing? What would Virat do? So that, I think, is his biggest obstacle, and how to overcome it is to constantly remind yourself, why am I in this position?” he said.
“Why did they pick me? There must be a good reason for it and it’s time for me to trust it and stay true to who I am and not try to captain like Virat or a Faf but captain like Rajat Patidar. And use the experience of Virat, use the experience of Andy Flower and some of the other players, but always stay true to who you are, and that to me would be the advice to Patidar,” he added.
RCB will begin their IPL 2025 campaign on March 22 against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and de Villiers believes Josh Hazlewood needs to stay fit for the entire season if RCB are to break the title jinx.
“RCB have an incredibly good balanced team. Their scheduling is going to be I think a bigger obstacle than the spinner that they’re lacking. I think they only lack an X-factor spinner, right? Krunal Pandya is a wonderful spinner. We’ve seen him over the years perform very consistently and he can chip in with the bat as well. They have some other options as well. But what I like about this team the most is the balance they have, and that will work well for them, especially with their scheduling, where they hop around to different venues all the time. They’ve got the trickiest schedule of them all. But I mean, look at that batting lineup,” said de Villiers.
“It is pure power. There’s a mix between power (and also control. I think Virat’s really going to enjoy batting with Phil Salt. And the bowling department, Bhuvi Kumar’s experience, I think that’s going to be great for them. As long as we can keep Josh Hazlewood fit throughout the season, I think RCB will have a great season. Wrap Hazlewood up in cotton wool.”
Recommended Topics Share this article Share Via Copy Link
- Virat Kohli
- Ab De Villiers
- Rcb
- Ipl
