AB de Villiers Reveals His Expectations From Virat Kohli In IPL 2022

He might not be a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore's dugout anymore but AB de Villiers' heart still beats for the RCB. The former South African captain had been an integral part of the RCB set up for several years, but decided to hang his boots after the 2021 season. ABD, as he was known in the cricketing circles, had formed a close bond with former RCB captain Virat Kohli both on and off the field as they tried their best to win the IPL for the franchise, but it wasn't to be.

Now, watching the action from the sidelines with his former South Africa teammate Faf du Plessis taking over the role of captain at RCB from this season, de Villiers spoke about his expectations from Kohli this season.

""Everyone knows about Faf du Plessis coming in as captain. I think the most exciting thing for me is Virat not being captain and releasing a bit of the pressure, really just going out there and freeing up. I am expecting a very big season from Virat. I am thinking 600+ runs from him this year," AB de Villiers said on the YouTube channel VUSport Streaming.

Kohli started the season with an unbeaten 41 off 29 deliveries against Punjab Kings as RCB posted 205, but the bowlers couldn't defend the total.

de Villiers heaped praise on du Plessis' leaderships skills and said that the South African will be able to allow others to enjoy their game.

"He (Kohli) will be in Faf's ear, but Faf is also very experienced as well. He has got good cricketing training on him and he would allow Virat and some of the youngsters to just go and free up, and just enjoy the IPL.

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"I don't know what to expect (from RCB) but I expect some individuals to really rise in this IPL from the RCB setup," De Villiers added