“It’s the Easiest Thing in the World”

The former RCB legend took aim at the advantage openers enjoy in T20 cricket: “And then on top of that, they’re all openers and they bat with these restrictions only two guys out, and it’s like, it’s the easiest thing in the world, especially in India. It’s ridiculous, man. You can’t play cricket like that.”

“Don’t Compare My Stats With Openers”

De Villiers questioned the fairness of comparing players across batting positions: “But then don’t compare my stats now that I know that, with everybody. They’re all openers, all the main top run-scorers, the Orange Caps they have. Do you know why it irritates me?” de Villiers saidHe even suggested tweaking the fielding restrictions in the powerplay:“At the very least, okay, with a new ball, when the ball’s pinging and flying, at the very least just have your fielding restrictions taken away in the first six overs, T20s in India short boundaries, great wickets. The advantage is the new ball already. It’s flying. It’s already too easy. Don’t just have two fielders out of the ring.”

“Unfair to Bowlers”

The Proteas legend highlighted how bowlers are often at a disadvantage: “But I do feel it’s a bit unfair to the bowlers in the IPL, the first six overs. Forget about the stats and me being me. It’s just a tough watch.”De Villiers pointed out how even mistimed shots can bring boundaries: “Very often, they play bad strokes and get rewarded for it, your sliced ball that you didn’t hit in the area you wanted to… and you still get four.”Using Travis Head as an example, he said: “Now it’s like Travis Head, it’s just flying everywhere. Inside edge four, outside edge four. Good shot, six, great, but it’s one out of three.”“What is that? 33% strike and you’re on 15 off four balls.” he added.

“I Feel Embarrassed”

De Villiers revealed his own mindset when scoring lucky boundaries: “Honestly, when I hit an inside edge for four, I feel embarrassed, I even sometimes apologise to bowlers, I swear because I feel like that’s not right, now these openers, just runs everywhere. New ball flying. It bothers me.”“Why do you think some captains, at the back end of their careers, promote themselves to open the batting in T20 cricket?”

“Give Me a Chance Up Front”

De Villiers ended with a pointed remark about his own batting position: “I got demoted to five at the back end of my career. I’m like, what do you got? because I’m a good finisher? No, give me a chance as well with a new ball up front.”

AB de Villiers In IPL

AB de Villiers enjoyed a remarkable IPL career, scoring 5162 runs in 184 matches at an impressive average of 39.70 and a blistering strike rate of 151.68, including 3 centuries and 40 half-centuries, with a highest score of 133*. What makes his numbers even more special is the context unlike most top run-scorers, de Villiers primarily batted in the middle order, often at No. 3 to 5, and still managed to dominate attacks with 251 sixes and over 400 fours.