Dropped South African cricket great AB de Villiers has hinted at making a return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) in a different role, suggesting a coaching or mentoring position with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
De Villiers played most of his IPL career at RCB. He made his IPL debut with the Delhi Daredevils (currently Delhi Capitals) in 2008, playing for them for three years before joining RCB in 2011.
Though the South African superstar quit all types of cricket in 2021, he made it clear that while a full-time professional position in the IPL may be impossible, his association with RCB is still intact. He stated he would be happy to come back to the franchise as a coach or mentor if the team can find an appropriate job for him.
I may be coming back with the IPL in some capacity in the future, but agreeing to play an entire season at the professional level is a very difficult ask, and I think those days are behind me. I guess you never know, though. My heart belongs to RCB and will always belong there.". So if the franchise believes there is a place for me (as a mentor or coach), when the time is due and ready, it will surely be RCB, de Villiers said in a conversation with IANS.
In his time at RCB, de Villiers scored 4,522 runs in 157 games, with a staggering average of 41.10 and a strike rate of 158.33. He scored two hundreds and 37 half-centuries for the Bengaluru team.
He also currently shares the highest stand in IPL history, a 229-run second-wicket partnership with India captain Virat Kohli against defunct Gujarat Lions during the 2016 season. During that season, de Villiers made 687 runs, finishing third among the tournament's run charts.
Throughout his overall IPL career of 184 matches for two teams, de Villiers scored 5,162 runs at a strike rate of 151.68 with three hundreds and 40 half-centuries.
AB de Villiers was in 2022 remembered by RCB by being inducted into the franchise's Hall of Fame along with Chris Gayle.
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