Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers is nothing short of a legend for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He spent a total of 11 IPL seasons with the franchise before announcing his retirement in 2011. Though he will nevre return to RCB as a player, de Villiers is open to take up a coaching role for the side in the future.
In a recent interview, de Villiers stated that his heart will always be with RCB and added that he will like to be associated with the franchise once again, but this time either as a coach or mentor.
"I might be involved with the IPL again in the future in a different role, but committing to a full season in a professional capacity is really tricky, and I believe those days are done. That said, you never say never. My heart is with RCB and always will be. So, if the franchise feels there's a role for me (as a coach or mentor), when my time is right and ready, it will definitely be RCB," de Villiers told IANS.
De Villiers played a total of 157 matches for RCB, scoring 4522 runs and maintaining an explosive strike-rate of 158.33. He scored two centuries and 37 half-centuries for the Bengaluru-based franchise in the 11 IPL seasons he played for them.
De Villiers' first IPL team was Delhi Daredevils
The 41-year-old played for only two IPL franchises in his career. He started his IPL career with the Delhi Daredevils and spent three seasons with them before moving to RCB in 2011. It was there that the South African cemented his place as one of the finest overseas players to ever feature in the league. Notably, de Villiers was also inducted into RCB's Hall of Fame alongside Chris Gayle.
The 2016 season was definitely de Villiers' best ever campaign with the bat for RCB as he finished third on the top run-getters chart with a total of 687 runs in 16 matches, including a century and six half-centuries. He finished his IPL careeer with 5162 runs under his name from 184 appearances. His contributions for RCB with the bat will never be forgotten by their fans.