South African batting legend AB de Villiers, widely regarded as one of the greatest to have ever played the game, recently opened up about the bowlers who challenged him the most in his career.
Known for his breathtaking stroke play and finishing abilities, de Villiers had a decorated cricketing journey, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he became a cult hero for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
De Villiers, who scored 5030 runs in 181 IPL matches, including 3 centuries and 38 half-centuries, revealed that three bowlers truly tested his skills — and interestingly, one of them is an Indian pacer.
In a candid chat with Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema, de Villiers named Shane Warne, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rashid Khan as the three toughest bowlers he faced.
Talking about the legendary Shane Warne, de Villiers said,
“I think Shane Warne in 2006 the first time I travelled to Australia, not so much because of skill and technique as just the presence of the man and the aura he carried. And obviously I was quite inexperienced. I knew from the get-go that he was going to get out.”
Reflecting further on that experience, he added,
“That game felt easy, but he was just a smart, incredible player, and it worked out pretty quickly. That’s my technique. It’s not quite spot on when it comes to playing straight. So, he was really going slow, slow, slider straight. And I missed the straight one and not long after that, that was my weakness for 2005, 06 and 07 I would miss straight balls, especially angling a bit back.”
De Villiers also admitted how Warne exploited a flaw in his batting early on:
“I would fall over, touch with my head. My back lift was a little bit beyond my back and. And I had to pay the juice. I mean I had to go back to the drawing board to figure out my technique, but he was a man who could figure out little things like that and understand there’s something not right with this guy’s bat lift. Let’s go straight and just sided it in there and ultimately I missed one.”
The only Indian in AB de Villiers’ elite list is pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah — a bowler he has had some intense battles with.
“Bumrah was always very challenging because he was so competitive, he would never back down, is always in your face so I’ve got a lot of respect for him and the way he plays his cricket. I got a hold of him even a few times. He came back at me and got a hold of me a few times and I love that competitiveness.”
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan was the third bowler named by de Villiers. He appreciated Rashid’s unrelenting nature and his ability to bounce back even after getting hit.
“Rashid Khan, tough to pick at night once again. Got him a few times, and he would always come back. Always in your face. He hit him with three sixes, as he was trying to get me out the next ball. And those are the kind of bowlers I always found difficult to face and always had a lot of respect for.”