Virat Kohli hails AB de Villiers after his induction into ICC Hall of Fame

Indian cricket star Virat Kohli has praised former South African captain AB de Villiers, calling him the most talented cricketer he has ever played with. This came after de Villiers was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, joining England's Alastair Cook and Indian women's cricket legend Neetu David in the class of 2024.

AB de Villiers, known as "Mr. 360" for his creative and explosive batting style, began his international career in 2004. Throughout his career, he scored over 20,000 runs across all formats and set several records. In Test cricket, de Villiers' highest score was an unbeaten 278 against Pakistan in 2010. He also made his mark behind the stumps, equaling the Test record for most dismissals in a match, with 11 catches against Pakistan in 2013.

In limited-overs cricket, de Villiers holds the record for the fastest men's ODI century and has won multiple ICC Men's ODI Player of the Year awards. His ability to dominate in all formats is reflected in his impressive averages of over 50 in both Tests and ODIs, along with a strike rate of more than 135 in T20Is.

Virat Kohli, who played alongside de Villiers at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, shared his admiration for his former teammate in a heartfelt message. 

"You are thoroughly deserving of your place – after all, the Hall of Fame is a representation of your impact on the game, and yours has been truly unique. People have always spoken about your ability, and rightly so. You are the most talented cricketer I have played with, the absolute number one," Kojhli

Kohli also reflected on de Villiers' self-belief and team-first mentality.

"You had a crazy amount of belief that you could execute whatever you wanted to on a cricket field, and you normally did. That is why you ended up being so special.

"You played and missed a couple and told me during a timeout that you weren’t picking him too well. I felt I was, so I remember telling you to give me the strike and I would try and hit boundaries off him.

"You were always completely in tune with the needs of the team, which made you one of the hardest players to make plans for when we were on opposing sides in international cricket," Kohli wrote.