Aplomb, passionate, brilliant, consistent, and animated are some of the adjectives that can describe Virat Kohli as a cricketer. With his top-notch performances and never-seen-before consistency Kohli has been ruling the game for more than a decade and the effect of that is he gets acknowledgement and respect from his opponents as well. Knowing the kind of damage Kohli can inflict when being provoked, even some of the notorious competitors think twice before trying to incite him. Backing the statement is none other than Virat Kohli's former RCB teammate, AB de Villiers.

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Ab de Villiers divulges the fear of Virat Kohli

According to Ab de Villiers, Virat Kohli takes motivation from criticism and translates it into a "big hundred." De Villiers, who played alongside Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bengaluru knows Kohli inside out and revealed that as an opponent in front of Kohli, he always used to suggest his (South African) teammates to stay silent in front of Virat Kohli, as it could charge him up, potentially rendering the risk of being hit by a big hundred from him. 

"I know Virat Kohli, you have no idea what happens to this guy when he catches criticism. The many years I've played against him, I used to tell the players do not say one word to Virat on the pitch because he will come out & he will score a big Hundred". De Villiers said during a JioCinema show.

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Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers: Long-lived bromance

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were the bankable batting generals of RCB from 2011-2021. Together they won a plethora of matches for their franchise and continued to do till IPL 2021. De Villiers took retirement from IPL following the end of the IPL 2021 season. Despite going in different ways, Kohli and De Villiers are regular chums and have lots to say about their observations in each other's game.