Punjab Kings' destructive batter Shashank Singh named legendary batter AB de Villiers as his cricketing idol. The South African great is arguably one of the most complete all-format batters of his time.
Shashank, who played a crucial role for Punjab Kings (PBKS) to guide his franchise to the finale of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, revealed that he always wanted to bat like him. The 33-year-old also recalled an interview he had with de Villiers, where he told him about the level of admiration he has for him.
I like AB de Villiers a lot. I always consider him my idol. Especially the way he used to play white ball. So AB de Villiers is one such person. I like to see him play a lot. And I had an interview with him, the way he talked, I felt that I wanted to be like him.
I told him that you are my idol and I am a big fan of yours, and that's why I want to be like you. You play a lot of shots, and I don’t think I can play all those, because in the world, there are very few people who can play like that. But your mindset, your intention, that's what I want to learn from you," Shashank said during an exclusive chat with CricTracker.
Shashank's last cricketing outing came in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final, where his unbeaten 61-run knock went in vain as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated the Punjab-based franchise by six runs to win their maiden IPL title at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Notably, AB de Villiers was also there to celebrate his former franchise RCB's inagural win alongside his former teammate Chris Gayle.