AB de Villiers names childhood inspiration that made him take up cricket over other sports

Former South African captain AB de Villiers announced his international retirement in May 2018. However, the cricketer is currently in talks with Cricket South Africa as he has expressed his intentions of making a comeback into the national side for the impending T20 World Cup in Australia. The veteran South African batsman has a huge following across the cricketing fraternity for his consistent run-scoring abilities and the range of unorthodox shots he possesses in his batting arsenal.

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RCB star AB de Villiers names Jonty Rhodes as his inspiration behind cricket

AB de Villiers recently interacted with BBC London’s Kevin Hand for a Middlesex Cricket video. During the interaction, he described former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes and his iconic runout of Inzamam-ul-Haq during the 1992 World Cup as the reason behind why he took up cricket. He said that Jonty Rhodes was a “standout” performer whose famous run out made a huge impact on him at a young age itself.

AB de Villiers said that he witnessed the runout live on television when he was just eight years old. He admitted to practising that same Jonty Rhodes runout recital “every day” of his life. AB de Villiers said that at times while practising, he used to get covered in grass and blood but he still carried on with his training. While the former South African captain said that he never got the opportunity to inflict that runout on the field himself, the effort by Jonty Rhodes still inspired him to do many “special things on the field”. Perhaps, ABD's claim is not too far-fetched as in his prime, he was widely regarded as one of the best fielders in the world, having also kept wickets for South Africa during the early stages of his career.

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Jonty Rhodes runout of Inzamam-ul-Haq in 1992 World Cup, watch video

IPL 2020: AB de Villiers in RCB

AB de Villiers made his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). During the IPL 2020 trading and transfer window, the franchise retained the cricketer for ₹17 crore (US$2.2 million) for the 2020 season. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and India lockdown prompted BCCI to indefinitely postpone the launch of the tournament. IPL 2020 was originally intended to commence on March 29.

AB de Villiers wife

AB de Villiers married his long-time girlfriend Danielle Swart in 2013. The couple has two children together. Quite recently, AB de Villiers wife took to Instagram and announced that they are now expecting a third child in their family.

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Image credit: IPLT20.COM