'It's Special For Me...' - ABD Elated With Virat Kohli's Letter After His ICC Hall Of Fame Honour
An old picture of AB de Villiers with Virat Kohli (Source:X.com/@vxio_cricfandom)
South African legend, AB de Villiers recently joined former England skipper Alastair Cook and one of India's finest spinners Neetu David, in the latest class of ICC Hall of Fame.
After this momentous achievement, Indian stunner, Virat Kohli wrote a heartfelt letter to his former RCB teammate for being honoured by ICC. In his letter, he highlighted de Villiers' extraordinary belief in his abilities, recalling instances where he demonstrated his skill. He also also credited de Villiers for influencing his own mental approach to the game.
In response to this, the former Proteas skipper in a video uploaded on his Instagram and thanked his fans for supporting him along with the International Cricket Council (ICC). He also said that despite his shyness, this induction was a very proud moment for him.
“I want to thank all of you for supporting me and obviously a big thanks to the ICC. It’s a great honour for me guys, thank you very much to the ICC, to all my fans out there, all the supporters over the years. I get very shy with these kind of things, so that’s why I don’t go on about it too much. But yes, obviously it’s a very proud moment and it sort of reminds me of all the hard work that’s gone into getting to moments like this,” de Villiers said.
He further also responded to Kohli’s letter, stating that it made him very proud to have his best friend write a letter for him.
“It’s really special for me and obviously Virat as well, thank you very much for the kind words. What I’m really proud about is Virat speaking about me always putting the team first,” he added.
Moreover, he also described how he desires to be remembered not by his stats or his records rather as someone who always puts his team first.
"Always being prepared to do everything I can to have an impact on the team. And that’s how I want to be remembered by, not by my stats or my records. I want to be remembered as a guy who contributed to the team and always put the team first. I’m very, very proud about that and I will not shy away from that. That’s certainly the way I played my cricket and it was always a priority to me,” he concluded.
AB de Villiers, who retired from international cricket in 2018, boasts an impressive batting average exceeding 50 in both Test and ODI formats. With a remarkable total of 20,014 international runs, he ranks second only to Jacques Kallis among South African cricketers.