The news of AB de Villiers’ retirement has left several fans numbed. After watching the greatness that he possessed, nobody wanted him to stop playing or at least retire without a proper farewell. Former RCB captain Virat Kohli is no different. He, too, has been affected by the news of AB de Villiers’s retirement and has shared a heartfelt message on social media shortly after the announcement of retirement broke the internet.
This hurts my heart but I know you've made the best decision for yourself and your family like you've always done. 💔I love you 💔 @ABdeVilliers17
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 19, 2021
In his post, Kohli called AB de Villiers the best player of his time and the most inspiring of people Kohli has come across. Acknowledging all the hard work AB de Villiers has put in for RCB, Kohli wrote, “this hurts my heart but I know you’ve made the best decision for yourself and your family like you’ve always done. I love you.”
This message clearly shows the depth of the relationship the two players share off the field. However, their on-field stats also relate to the same story. Playing 11 seasons together for RCB, the duo has scored two of the highest recorded partnerships of IPL. They put on 229 runs against Gujarat Lions in 2016, and a year before that, they played an unbeaten knock of 215 runs against the then reigning champions Mumbai Indians.
Last year, the duo also achieved a milestone of most century stands by any pair in IPL, as they made their 10th 100 run partnership in the game against KKR. Together the duo has scored 3000 runs in partnerships alone. And with 5162 runs under his belt, AB de Villiers was the second-highest run-scorers amid overseas players in IPL.
