Will AB de Villiers play IPL 2019?: Royal Challengers Bangalore clears the air with a recent press statement.
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With former South African captain AB de Villiers hanging his boots from international cricket earlier this year, there were a lot of doubts regarding his participation in the other leagues, chiefly the Indian Premier League (IPL). Upon retiring, de Villiers had wished to continue playing for his domestic state in South Africa but hadn’t commented on his IPL future.
Having made his IPL debut for the Delhi Daredevils in 2008, de Villiers was bought by the Royal Challengers in 2011. Since then, he has regularly represented the men in red. de Villiers was part of one of the most followed IPL franchise, a team whose top three comprised of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for several years.
In the 141 matches that he has played in the IPL, de Villiers has scored 3,953 runs at an average of 39.53 and a strike rate of 150.93. He has also registered three centuries and 28 half-centuries. de Villiers has been part of massive partnership for RCB, especially alongside captain Virat Kohli. The duo has to its name the highest IPL partnership ever – 229 against Gujarat Lions in 2016. Apparently, IPL’s second-highest partnership also belongs to them – 215* vs Mumbai Indians in 2015.
Sanjeev Churiwala, chairman of RCB, spoke about the availability of de Villiers during an interview with Times Now, “De Villiers will be available for RCB. We have stated our intentions on this matter in the past as well,” he was quoted.
Apart from the IPL, de Villiers is also slated to play his maiden stint in the upcoming season of the PSL (Pakistan Super League). He has also been appointed as the non-playing ambassador of the 2018-19 UAE T20X to be played from December 19 to January 11 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.
