AB de Villiers: So long forever man! What a relief you have given to bowlers!

The ABD of South African cricket, nay world cricket, has walked into the sunset of retirement after blazing a trail with his bat that would make willows weep with envy across borders.

De Villiers has been that chilli to the sub which spiced up wins for his country, inflamed oppositions and brought a delightful taste to the cricketing platter.

My undying emotional moment around this 37-year-old cricketer from Pretoria, however, is him on his hunches, kneeling over his bat on a Kiwi pitch in the 2015 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand and sobbing uncontrollably. His country had just lost a place in the Final by a whisker.

He knew then that his cricketing age may not see another run for the title which has eluded his country on a tag of chokers for, like, ever and ever. The memory stays because Abraham Benjamin de Villiers was that man in the South African squad who had the ability to get the much coveted Cup on the blade of his bat all alone. And yet, it remains a desperate want.

Cricket has been exceptionally kind to me. Whether playing for the Titans, or the Proteas, or RCB, or around the world, the game has given me unimagined experiences and opportunities, and I will always be grateful.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) November 19, 2021

 

That does not, however, take away from the towering presence of this diminutive 5.8 inches man in cricket’s unannounced but more real hall of fame – the area in front of the stumps, an area ABD owned with so much force and monopoly that oppositions prayed God deny him the destruction he almost always caused.

 

The numbers are many but ABD needs introduction only for a few who know not cricket! For them – he holds the record for fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODI cricket and he is the only batsman ever to average above 50 with a strike rate of above 100. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time.

Now there are batters and batters, destroyers and pulverisers of various hues around the world. Chris Gayle is a cyclone that has hit many a time but has also passed the pitch as many times impacting the game to disastrous outcomes both for the oppositions and his team. Meaning to say, he is explosive but inconsistent. Then there was Adam Gilchrist who was a more stable but less forceful destroyer. He toned the innings for Australia almost always going north with the runs from the start.

Our very own Krishnamachari Srikkanth caused so much anarchy with the bat that bowlers were tempted to often knock him in the head. His irreverence to anyone bowling to him could be compared only with Virender Sehwag’s undying irreverence to longevity. Srikkant’s firepower 116 against the Aussies at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1986 made Sunil Gavaskar wonder what he was doing at the other end.

And then there was the bald headed Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya who changed the game for all times with his unmatched pyrotechnics which taught the world the real meaning and worth of top order assaults. In 1996, Jayasuriya smashed a mindboggling ODI 50 against Pakistan in just 17 balls.

Till, of course, De Villiers came along and broke this fasted fifty record with a 16-ball half century in 2015, nine years later. Yes ABD was the ultimate strike rate man that blazed the corridors of the game with handsome, fast and furious knocks. A strike rate of 54.5 in Tests, 101.1 in ODIs, 135.2 in T20s and 151.7 in IPL! This assassin plotted killings in the middle with such undying regularity that his earlier retirement plans were disrupted by passionate pleas from his team management to give it one more try.

Like a West Indian squad would look like Chris Gayle, a South African one would miss the works of ABD for a long time to come.

“It has been an incredible journey, but I have decided to retire from all cricket. Ever since the back yard matches with my older brothers, I have played the game with pure enjoyment and unbridled enthusiasm. Now, at the age of 37, that flame no longer burns so brightly. That’s the reality I must accept. And even if it may seem sudden… I’ve had my time,” he tweeted about retiring from all forms of cricket.

De Villiers’ envious innings is many things to many people. A textbook for pinch-hitters, a diary entry for stroke players, a staple for the Proteans, a must-have for the Titans, a main draw for the RCB. But his genius is best celebrated by the fact that fans from across the cricketing nations, India included, would converge on to their screens to soak in the run-getter’s stay on the pitch.

ABD earned respect from teams his bat treated with utmost disrespect. His best friends emerged to salute him despite being a part of South Africa’s fiercest rivals. He was a batter that rubbed out boundaries when it came to applause and acknowledgement. His bat and the consummate use of it throughout his career made him that rare globally loved icon that not many get to stride in the stratosphere of complete cricketing geniuses.

ABD, you will be missed, unless we see you sitting in the Protean dressing room being the man behind the line of younger bats that will walk into the middle kissing your collectible for inspiration.

So long, forever man! What a relief you have given to bowlers!