AB de Villiers IPL 2022 team: Is AB de Villiers playing IPL 2022?

AB de Villiers IPL 2022 team: The legendary South African batter featured in three IPL seasons post his international retirement in 2018.

During the recently concluded second and final Test match between India and Sri Lanka at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium-the home ground of the popular IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Bengaluru, the crowd turned up in huge numbers to not only cheer team India, but also the local favourites in Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

Kohli has been playing for the RCB ever since the inception of the tournament in 2008. The fact makes him the only player in the history of the league to play for a single franchise.

De Villiers, on the other hand, had been with the franchise since the 2011 edition of the league, after playing for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) for the three initial seasons starting 2008.

AB de Villiers IPL 2022 team

The Proteas star batter, at the age of 37,  announced retirement from all forms of Cricket in November 2021, thereby marking an end to a stellar career that entertained Cricket fans for the past 18 years.

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. pic.twitter.com/W1Z41wFeli

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

Having retired from international Cricket in May 2018, de Villiers played for the RCB for another three seasons until last year, after which he finally decided to hang up his boots, albiet unfortunately, without an IPL title under his belt.

The development thus meant that de Villiers would not play in IPL 2022, and that the RCB supporters would not witness their Proteas superstar smashing the leather ball from this year onwards.

The now 38-year-old played a total of 184 IPL matches and amassed a total of 5,162 runs at an average and strike rate of 39.70 and 151.68 respectively. He also struck 40 half-centuries and 3 centuries during his illustrious IPL career.

Overall in his T20 career, AB de Villiers featured in 340 matches and scored 9,424 runs at a strike-rate of 150.13.