IPL 2019 | AB de Villiers praises Virat Kohli’s "personality and mental strength"

03/16/2019

AB de Villiers has heaped praise on Virat Kohli saying that the Indian skipper’s "personality and mental strength" helps him to come out of difficult times in the career. The former South African batsman is of the opinion that the Proteas are not the favourites for the upcoming World Cup.

Kohli has been in great form for a long time in international cricket now and he is also leading the Indian team from the front with the bat. The performances have made him one of the finest batsmen in the world at the moment. De Villiers has now stated that one can not take the class out of the Indian skipper and Kohli’s good show is not going to stop soon.

"Virat's performances over the last few years while have been incredible and I can't see it stopping very soon. I have played with him for eight years now in the IPL and you can never take the class out of the guy," de Villiers told sport24.

"However, he is human after all and, like any other cricketer, he will go through patches from time to time where he has to go back to the basics and work his way through it again. I believe it's his personality and mental strength that gets him through those moments and makes him the best ODI player in the world at the moment."

De Villiers and Kohli are playing for the same team – Royal Challengers Bangalore - in the IPL and both are game changers in their own right. The South African cricketer has underlined the fact that there is some similarity between the two RCB batsmen.

"We are both fighters and don't enjoy losing, we love batting together and taking the game away from teams, explained De Villiers"

With the World Cup starting from May 30, De Villiers has opined that the South African side is not the favourites for the tournament. However, he credited the Proteas for playing well in the one-day matches off late.

"The Proteas are certainly in the running, but I won't say they are the favourites to be honest with you. India and England are looking strong, Australia have won five World Cups in the past and Pakistan claimed the Champions Trophy in the UK two years ago,” implied De Villiers.

"Those four teams are probably the favourites, but the way the Proteas have been playing in the 50-over format of late has been encouraging."