You are the most talented cricketer I've played with: Virat Kohli writes to AB de Villiers
Dubai, Oct 16: Virat Kohli on Wednesday described AB de Villiers as "the most talented cricketer" he has played with after the South African great was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
De Villers was included in the long list of great players along with England legend Alastair Cook and India's Neetu David.
In an open letter to the inductees by those close to them, Kohli was effusive in praise of his teammate at IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
"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," he wrote.
"People have always spoken about your ability, and rightly so. You are the most talented cricketer I have played with, the absolute number one."
Kohli described de Villiers' belief and doggedness to uphold the game's values as the qualities that had an impact on the psyche of those watching.
"A lot of players can have impressive numbers but very few have an impact on the psyche of those watching," he wrote.
"For me, that is the highest value you can have as a cricketer and that is what makes you so special."
"Through my time playing with and against you, you always had a very clear understanding of how the game should be played and you never really veered from that, regardless of whether you were doing well or not," he added.
Kohli said de Villiers was someone who was bailing his teams out of troubles more often than not.
"It was never about someone else. It was never about competing with another player," he described.
"It was always about what impact you could create for the team. In difficult situations, you were the man bailing out your team more often than not.
"Your drive to want to be the guy to win the game for your team was tremendous and something I learned a lot from," he said.
Kohli said de Villiers taught him about the importance of not resting on laurels.
"I remember taking from you that it doesn't matter what you have done in the last four games, it is about how you approach the game today.
"It is about always being positive, always taking the game on and finding a way to get the job done."
"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," he added.
Kohli, who shared the RCB dressing room with de Villiers for a decade from 2011-2021, said the former South African captain's 'self-belief' is one trait that stood out for him.
"But what truly stood out to me was your belief in that ability. 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," he wrote.
Alongside recalling a special moment while playing together for RCB in a contest against Kolkata Knight Riders, Kohli also recollected memories of the 2015 Test in New Delhi, one in which the Proteas batters fought hard to force a draw.
"Everyone remembers your attacking shots but you would adapt to the situation. Take 2015, in Delhi, when you faced 297 balls and made 43 trying to save the Test match," Kohli said.
"There must have been a temptation at some stage to think 'I've faced 200 balls, I need to hit a boundary'. But once you locked yourself into what the situation required, you just kept going on and on.
"It all comes back to that belief in your ability. It wasn't just about the crazy, extravagant shots. You had the ability to defend the ball and had belief in that defence. To play that way because South Africa needed you to do so is a classic example of the team player you were," he added.
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Skipper Rahane urges KKR to embrace tough days, play with freedom
Ahmedabad (PTI): Winless after six matches, time is running out for Kolkata Knight Riders playoff hopes but their embattled skipper Ajinkya Rahane has urged the side to "embrace tough phases, play with freedom, and focus on one game at a time".
Loss has been one constant for the three-time former champions this season as they endured a five-wicket loss against Gujarat Titans to slump to their fifth defeat from six matches with their solitary point coming courtesy a rain washout against Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens.
“It’s about accepting and embracing these tough days. Every day is a new day... trying to do better, playing with freedom, and backing each other," Rahane was at his philosophical best at the post-match media interaction here on Friday.
A minimum of seven wins is needed from a 10-team league to keep a team's playoff aspirations alive.
With eight matches to go and one point in their kitty, the task will be an improbable one for KKR from here on.
'Nothing to lose'
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Rahane, however, said they have nothing to lose and it's all about playing with freedom.
“We’re thinking one game at a time. It’s tough when you lose games, but everyone is trying their best. No one wants to lose any match -- we all want to win -- but that’s what sport is all about... keep your heads up. For us, it’s about going out there, being positive, and playing with freedom. We’ve got nothing to lose.
“Let me tell you one thing: everyone is working really hard. For us, it’s all about playing for our fans and the people of Kolkata, and we’re trying to do our best.
"After each and every game, there’s discussion about how we can improve. Obviously, when you lose, you tend to think about combinations and the areas we can get better at, so the discussion is always on."
Rahane won a fourth toss from six matches this season, but his decision to bat first once again raised eyebrows. Even his counterpart Shubman Gill said at the toss he would have preferred to bowl, keeping the dew in mind.
The call backfired as KKR slipped to 32 for 3 in four overs before their Rs 25.20-crore acquisition Cameron Green bailed them out with his best innings for the franchise so far, a 79 off 55 balls.
“It’s never easy when things are not going your way, and the courage he showed was fantastic. All credit to him," Rahane said.
“Yes, as a batting team we were thinking about 200 on this wicket. It would have been challenging, but let’s not take anything away from his innings.
“Attacking Rashid Khan and their fast bowlers, he was fantastic tonight for us.”
'Proud of bowlers'
The KKR skipper also admitted in the media interaction that there was a "bit of dew" but he hailed their inexperienced bowlers for taking the match till the final over.
From being 95/1 in nine overs in their chase of 181, GT were made to sweat with Jos Buttler, Washington Sunder, Glenn Phillilps and a well-set Gill falling against the run of play.
Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan eventually sealed the nervy chase with two balls to spare.
“Special mention to our bowling unit. It’s such an inexperienced attack with just two seniors in Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, but the kind of improvement they’ve shown, especially in the last three games, has been fantastic," said Rahane.
“Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, and Anukul Roy have also been fantastic, bowling tough overs in the powerplay and picking up wickets.
“Our support staff is doing a great job of keeping the environment really good. It’s all about accepting, but we will keep trying our best.”
