Virat Kohli fortunate to be blessed with talented players around him, feels AB de Villiers

Kohli's camaraderie with de Villiers — and Chris Gayle — is one of the most popular stories of the IPL in all its years. But the duo not only shares a great bond but also enormous respect for each other, with Mr. 360 himself lauding Kohli as someone who leads his team from the front. 

“He is very fortunate to have a lot of talent there - players who have a lot of experience, who have played a lot of IPL games under the most intense pressure before. He is blessed with that but also he is a lead from the front kind of a leader. And that's always good from a captain when a guy goes out there and scores the big hundreds. He just doesn't only talk but walks the talk as well. That's the kind of a leader Virat is. He leads from the front with his body language,” de Villiers told timesnownews.com.

AB is currently preparing to ply his trade in the Mzansi Super League but took the time to congratulate Kohli for his brilliant outing — 317 runs in 4 innings at an astonishing average of 158.50 — in the 3-0 whitewash of South Africa.

“We are very good friends. We always stay in touch and we get along really well. I have always been a big fan of the way he plays the game. After the SA series, I didn't have a choice but to congratulate him as he scored so many runs and had a fantastic series, unfortunately against us. That's the last I spoke to him. Then I warned him as well that when he is going to next come here, it's not going to happen again (laughs),” de Villiers added.

Since his retirement from international cricket, AB has featured in global T20 tournaments and will be seen playing for RCB in IPL 2020. Kohli, meanwhile, will return to lead the team for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh scheduled to begin from November 14.