AB De Villiers, The Superman of cricket

Very few people who have played this game can match the genius of AB De Villiers. He is a modern master of this game and has innumerable records to his name. Usually known for his 360 degree shots which got him the name Mr.360, he can tear any bowling attack apart when he is in a flow. His presence alone is enough to strike fear in the hearts of opponents. Born on 17th of February 1984 in a small town in South Africa, he is known all over the world as an ambassador for unorthodox shots. There isn’t any shot that he cannot play.

International Career

Having represented his country, South Africa for 14 years, he has won many matches for them and chased victory from the jaws of defeat. A clean striker of the ball, he has played various sports while growing up but decided to take up cricket. Result, 20,000+ runs 40+ centuries and countless breathtaking feats which mere mortals cannot achieve. He along with Hashim Amla, Faf duplessis and Quinton Dekock form a world class batting order which is almost impenetrable.

However, the tour that shot him to fame was the Australia tour in 2012 where he played a match saving knock along with the debutant Faf Duplessis. In the very next match, he scored a match winning hundred and won the test series. He ended his career with 8000+ runs in test at an average of over 50 and including 22 hundreds. He has an ordinary record in tests but has an unbelievable record in ODIs. Scoring over 9000 runs at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 101 is not an ordinary feat.

He has 25 hundreds to his name, all of which have been scored over a strike rate of 100. He holds the record for the fastest 50,100 and 150 in ODIs, all of which have been scored against West Indies. He also has impressive records against all the teams he played. Though his T20I record is not impressive, he managed to score 1600+ runs at a strike rate of 130 with 11 50s. His wide range of shots and his consistency has got him a chance to play various T20 leagues across the globe.

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IPL through years

Getting a chance to play in the inaugural edition of the IPL through Delhi Daredevils, he hasn’t played an impressive part in his first season. However with the tournament being shifted to South Africa in the next edition, he got a chance to play all the matches and has scored over 400 runs including a hundred on Chennai Super Kings. He was in and out of the team frequently in the third edition and eventually was released from the squad.

The Bangalore based franchise, RCB bought him as a lower order batsman and he continued to impress them by chipping valuable runs down the order. Later, his promotion up the order worked wonders for the team. He along with the King, Virat Kohli won many matches on their own. On field, he is a live wire. His acrobatic fielding, agility and the way he strikes the ball has earned him a nickname of “Superman”. Even after retirement from international cricket, he is continuing to enthrall the spectators wherever he plays.