Former South African cricket captain AB de Villiers has expressed confidence in the performance of his Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate, Virat Kohli, for the upcoming IPL 2024 season.
Virat will be back. We’ve missed him dearly and absolutely cannot wait to watch the best of him this coming season,” said de Villiers, expressing his anticipation for Kohli’s return to action.
Kohli, who holds the record for the highest run scorer in IPL history with over 7,000 runs in more than 200 matches, is anticipated to excel once again. De Villiers emphasized Kohli’s remarkable achievements, describing his IPL career as “incredible” and likening it to a career in itself. Kohli is the IPL’s all-time leading run scorer with 7263 runs at an average of 37.24 and a strike rate of 130.02.
“Stalwart, King Kohli, over 7000 runs, over 200 IPL matches — but that’s simply incredible. That’s like a career in itself. “
De Villiers also expressed optimism about the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s prospects for the upcoming season, particularly highlighting the team’s bowling department.
Led by Mohammed Siraj, the bowling unit boasts considerable depth, featuring talents like Cameron Green, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Reece Topley, Yash Dayal, and Vijaykumar Vyshak. De Villiers believes that this depth in the bowling department will play a crucial role in RCB’s success in the tournament.
The bowling department, led by Mohammed Siraj, plays a huge role. I think there’s very nice depth this time around, and I think that is one of the big reasons I feel RCB is going to go all the way this year,” De Villiers added.
Furthermore, De Villiers praised RCB captain Faf Du Plessis, noting his recent resurgence in form during the latter stages of the SA20 season. Despite a temporary dip in form, Du Plessis’ return to runs bodes well for RCB’s campaign, according to De Villiers.
