After playing with the Delhi Daredevils for three seasons, AB de Villiers has disclosed that he was passed over by the IPL team.
After three seasons with the IPL team, one of the best batters of the contemporary era, AB de Villiers, has confessed that he was passed over by the Delhi Daredevils. The South African batting great, formerly known as the Delhi Capitals, had three uneventful seasons with the Delhi team until breaking through with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, de Villiers was informed that he would be “retained” at a team meeting that even saw the explosive Australian opener David Warner there. However, this did not materialize as the team released Villiers ahead of the 2011 auction.
The former South African captain recalled the incident on his YouTube channel, “AB de Villiers 360,” saying, “You are going to get retained, young AB de Villiers.” I got called into the office during the 2010 season.I was seated next to David Warner throughout that meeting. A week or two later, I discovered to my great astonishment that I had been discharged.
“So the communication wasn’t great back in the day, that must be different these days but it’s not a nice feeling,” De Villiers stated.
The 39-year-old claimed he was anxious before the auction and that it was a major setback.
“You’re uncertain about your career. I believe I played five games in the 2010 Indian Premier League season, so a lot of worries started to creep into my thoughts.
“However, my international season was excellent. I kept playing good cricket and luckily for me the auction happened and I got picked up by RCB, and it changed my life forever, so great memories with regards to that.
“I was somewhat anxious. Then I got the news from Twitter that I was picked by RCB and the next moment Virat (Kohli) called.” De Villiers went on to mesmerise the Indian fans with his stroke-making and formed a dream combination with star batter Kohli at the top of the order for 11
According to De Villiers, the players that were released shouldn’t be discouraged because it’s not the “end of the road”.
It’s not the end of the road for any of the released players; pay special attention to the auction. However, if you don’t get selected, it’s a chance to start over and put in even more effort,” he continued.
