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AB De Villiers Picks Spot Fixer Over Bumrah, McGrath As ‘Toughest Bowler’ He Ever Faced

Aakash Saini

AB De Villiers and Mohammad Asif [Source: @CricCrazyJohns, @deepdownanlyz/x]AB De Villiers and Mohammad Asif [Source: @CricCrazyJohns, @deepdownanlyz/x]

Former South African captain AB de Villiers recently made his return to competitive cricket after a gap of nearly four years through the ongoing 2025 World Championship of Legends (WCL) season. Fresh from his explosive 51-ball 116* against England Champions in Leicester, Villiers opened up in a post-match interview about a bowler who troubled him the most during his international career.

Notably, the RCB legend did not named the likes of champion Australian bowler Glenn McGrath or India’s very own Jasprit Bumrah; but rather named a certain Pakistani cricketer as the toughest bowler he ever faced.

“Mohammad Asif Found My Weaknesses” Says ABD

AB de Villiers was recently asked to name the toughest bowler he ever faced during his competitive career. While speaking with SPORTS TAK in an exclusive interview amid the ongoing WCL 2025 season, the former South African captain named disgraced Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif as his biggest Achilles heel.

AB de Villiers revealed that Asif managed to exploit his weakness, and described him a “wonderful bowler” who troubled the best of batters around the world. He said:

“I think Mohammad Asif back in the day, when I was young and my technique was not as sound as in the back end of my career. He found a few weaknesses in my setup. He was a wonderful bowler and troubled quite a few batters around the world.”

Apart from AB de Villiers, fellow South African national Hashim Amla and former England captain Kevin Pietersen have also expressed their admirations for Mohammad Asif in the past.

Asif, who made his international debut for Pakistan in 2005, had his career cut short owing to his involvement in the explosive spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010. He was eventually sidelined from the game after playing 23 Tests, 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is for the ‘Men in Green’.