"He Was Magical": Sanjay Bangar Reminisces AB de Villiers' Royal Challengers Bangalore Stint Before IPL Mega Auction

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be without the services of the now-retired South African star batter AB de Villiers for the first time in over a decade when the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL 2022) season begins later this year. With the IPL 2022 mega auction being held in Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday, RCB will be keen to land a big-hitter or two in the mould of De Villiers as they attempt to build a squad strong enough to challenge for a maiden IPL title.

On the eve of the IPL mega auction, RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar recalled the contribution of De Villiers to the side.

"I am very sure that there is not a single player on planet earth who can fill in the job that AB did for RCB over such a long period of time. He was magical even in the last couple of seasons. So we are certainly going to miss him but we will have to cope with the challenge and I see a lot of opportunities there where we can do something with our team combinations. So those are the questions that we will have to answer," Bangar said in a video shared by RCB on Twitter.

Sanjay Bangar talks about missing AB de Villiers, while Mike Hesson and Malolan react to fan suggestions ahead of the #IPLMegaAuction on Bold Diaries.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #ClassOf2022 pic.twitter.com/zjrL4NxJYR

De Villiers spent a decade at RCB from 2011 to 2021. He had previously played for Delhi Daredevils from 2008 to 2010.

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In his IPL career, De Villiers played 184 matches and scored  a total of 5162 runs at an average of 39.7. He scored three hundreds and 40 fifties, maintaining a strike rate of 151.7.

He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in November last year.