Former South African skipper Ab de Villiers has picked proteas opener Hashim Amla and Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli as his favourite batting partner in his cricketing career. AB de Villiers had a brilliant career for South Africa from 2004 to 2018 apart from making a name for himself in the cash-rich league playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Ab de Villiers had some sweet memories of him with RCB during his playing days, where he formed the core of the team’s batting unit along with the likes of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli and has played some phenomenal knock for the Bangalore franchise in the Indian Premier League.

In a Q&A session on his Youtube Channel,  Ab de Villiers revealed that he enjoyed batting with Hashim Amla for  South Africa producing some memorable partnerships for the proteas, and said that Virat Kohli was his favourite batting opener in the T20 cricket as they wanted to take the game away from the opponents and added that knowing him off the field helped their game on the field.

“I absolutely loved batting with Hashim Amla for the Proteas. I think we got some incredible partnerships together. In T20 cricket and IPL, definitely Virat. Our personalities and our way of playing clashed a little bit. We were both very intense. Both wanted to take the game away from the opposition immediately, which sounds like the dream partnership,” he added.

“Sometimes it clashes, but Virat and I know each other so well, we managed to find a way to make it work because we understand each other’s game so well. I know him so well off the field, we found a way to make that clash of personalities…,” 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, de Villiers quickly became a fan favourite in India. He has also been a crucial player for RCB, helping the team reach the finals in 2016 alongside Virat Kohli.

Virat And I Were Fifth-sixth Gear All The Ways Guys – Ab de Villiers

Ab de Villiers said that they tend to go too hard on the opponents at times where they tend to lose their wickets in crucial moments but was happy when things went in their favour as they were able to add two 200 runs partnership in the IPL history.

“Sometimes, we would go too hard. He would get out, I would get out and all of a sudden RCB would be 30/3. Virat and I were fifth-sixth gear all the way guys, which paid off sometimes. In the IPL, I can think of that 200 partnership in Mumbai. At the Chinnaswamy, another 200 partnerships. We always played for the team and nothing else mattered,” Ab de Villiers added.

AB de Villiers had some of his most productive years in the Indian Premier League, being one of the stalwarts of the game. He featured in 144 games for RCB with close to 5,000 runs and a strike rate of 158.6. He also holds the record for the top two highest partnerships in IPL history with Virat Kohli, adding 200 runs twice.