Cricket: 'AB de Villiers has got a standing ovation as if he was an Indian': Aakash Chopra
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Aakash Chopra has said that his most distinctive memory of AB de Villiers is the worship he has gotten from the Indian spectators, similar to the ones got by the most cherished Team India players.
Aakash Chopra has said that his most distinctive memory of AB de Villiers and the worship he has gotten from the Indian spectators, similar to the ones got by the most cherished Team India players.
Mark Boucher as of late uncovered that AB de Villiers has passed on to him that the last will adhere to his prior choice of not representing South Africa again at the global level. He contemplated that he would not like to take the spot of another meriting player.
While talking about AB de Villiers' worldwide vocation in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reviewed the inspiring acclaim the South African has gotten from Indian spectators, like the ones held for any semblance of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
"If we see Indian cricket's immediate span, Dhoni, Kohli, and Rohit are the three players who cause a roar when they enter the ground. I saw a similar standing ovation given to AB de Villiers before the match. It was as if he was an Indian" - he said.
"The kind of love and affection, and the admiration he has generated in Indian hearts. There are a few moments that get etched in your mind, which remain with you forever. This was such a moment which happened to me with regards to AB de Villiers during an India-South Africa match in Dharamsala" - he added.
Aakash Chopra pointed out that AB de Villiers has extraordinary numbers both in Tests and ODI cricket.
"His Test and ODI career numbers are wonderful. He scored 8765 runs in Tests at an average of 50.66. He reached close to ten thousand runs in ODIs, 9577 runs at an even better average of 53.50, and a strike rate above 100. That's phenomenal" - he said.
"But his T20I numbers, he has played 75 matches which are quite a few, but only 1672 runs in that at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 135. He did not hit a century and ten half-centuries. But if you see T20s, there is a difference in chalk and cheese between his T20I and T20 numbers. He is a runaway match-winner in T20s, he was the same player in Tests and ODIs but for whatever reason, his performances for South Africa in T20Is were not that good" - he added.
Aakash Chopra contemplated AB de Villiers probably won't have satisfied hopes in T20I cricket because of the colossal tension on him and the jobs he was allocated to play.
"It could be because the team was not winning and there was a lot of pressure on him but that happens with RCB also where the team does not win but he still does well. A little bit of paralysis by analysis. I remember a World Cup where his team decided that he does well when he comes after 10 overs" - he signed off.