It was a privilege watching AB de Villiers play, says VVS Laxman
SRH mentor VVS Laxman has lavished praise on recently-retired AB de Villiers and claimed that watching the South African bat was a treat for everyone's eyes. The former India star has also added that de Villiers had made many bowler's life horrible through his insane power-hitting abilities.
It was a shocker for every cricket fan yesterday when South African batsman AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket via Twitter. De Villiers revealed that after 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is for South Africa he felt ‘tired’ and it was time for him to step down.
Ever since then, fans and former teammates began to pay tribute to de Villiers through posts on social media and other sources. Former Indian batsman and mentor for IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad, VVS Laxman also heaped praise on the 34-year old batsman by stating that de Villiers was a delight to watch for spectators all over the world.
“Honestly, I was not surprised by his decision given the back injury he suffered last season. Maybe, at some stage, he might have given a serious thought to the workload and demands of international cricket. And, we have to respect his decision. Ultimately, as a cricketer, he should know what is the best decision to take in this regard.
“It was a privilege watching him play. He seemed to have the option of [choosing from] three strokes for each ball. He was an extraordinarily skilful cricketer who changed the course of the match single-handedly in all three formats of the game,” Laxman told The Hindu on Wednesday.
In a career which spanned almost 14 years, de Villiers has managed to set various records across all formats of the game. He currently holds the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 150. He scored 22 centuries in the Test format and 25 tons in ODIs, throughout his career.
“I have seen the best of the bowlers suffer as he could even hit good-length balls to the fence effortlessly with a huge range of strokes and many didn’t know where to bowl to him.
“The best part is that he lived up to the expectations. I remember rave reviews when de Villiers arrived on international cricket. It is amazing that he sustained his level of excellence for so long at the highest level because he was mentally very strong,” Laxman added.
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