Picture Credit: IPL
There are two things the Indian Premier League has done over the years- produce amazing talent and bring cricketers from the globe together. Many overseas cricketers have fallen in love with India after playing in the IPL and have also received immense love from Indian fans. The first and foremost name that comes to mind when there is a discussion about overseas cricketers getting love in India is AB de Villiers.
The South African cricketer has earned some huge respect and love from Indian cricket fans while playing for RCB in the IPL. Apart from that, he also formed a strong bond with Virat Kohli. Time and again, the duo has expressed their love for each other in public. Virat Kohli calls AB de Villiers his brother. The duo has destroyed many bowlers together while playing for RCB but now, there is no de Villiers in IPL.
The Proteas cricketer retired from all forms of cricket last year and thus, is not a part of IPL this year. It is weird not only for RCB fans but also for Virat Kohli to not have one of the pillars of the team around. The former RCB captain talked about the same and revealed how it feels to play without AB de Villiers. Kohli also talked about how he will feel if RCB wins the title and not have AB to celebrate with.
"It's very strange," said Kohli when asked about how he feels to not have one of his best friends around. "The other day, it got me thinking, if we manage to win the title in the coming seasons, I would be very emotional thinking about him first. Rather than what I would experience after such hard work of so many years, I would actually think of him," said the former RCB skipper.
"It would still mean a lot to him even if he is watching the game from home. He is a special human being as he has touched everyone, and we all can vouch for that," he added.
Notably, RCB are still searching for their maiden IPL title. The Bangalore-based franchise have made it to the finals three times but have failed to win the title. This year, they have appointed another South African giant, Faf du Plessis as their captain as Kohli stepped down from the leadership role last year. RCB's IPL 2022 camping started on a losing note against Punjab Kings. They will now play Kolkata in their next league game on Wednesday.