AB de Villiers is considered one of the best cricketers to have ever played the game. The South African legend got worldwide fame due to amazing batting as well as the fielding skills. He has been awarded ‘ICC ODI player of the year’ three times. He also plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in Indian Premier Leagues due to which he has lot of fan-following in India.
In the 420 matches he has played for South Africa, de Villiers has amassed 20014 runs across the three formats.ABD was recently seen in Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) colours during the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is captained by Virat Kohli. The team, however, finished sixth in the IPL, failing to qualify for playoffs.
Here are the top ten facts about AB de Villiers which will prove that he is an all-rounder in not just cricket, but in his life too.
AB de Villiers retirement! Top 10 amazing facts
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01
AB de Villiers has been a champion of sports other than cricket
AB de Villiers’ heroics is not limited to only cricket. He has many achievements in other sports too. He has been the record time holder for 100 metres in Junior Athletics of South Africa. He is also the former champion of under-19 national badminton championship of South Africa. He was also a part of junior national football squad for his country. He was a part of South Africa’s junior national hockey team as well. He has also represented South Africa at the national under-19 badminton championships. He was also a member of South Africa junior Davis Cup team for tennis. He also plays golf professionally. All this clearly proves that AB is really a multi-sports person.
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02
AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis are childhood friends
South African cricketers AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis have known each other from childhood. Both went to same high school ‘Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool’ in Pretoria. Both were part of their school’s cricket team when they were 15 years old. Also, both opted for a degree in sports science in college. Later, both of them entered the national cricket team of South Africa.
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03
AB de Villiers proposed to his wife in India
After dating his girlfriend Danielle Swart for five years, AB de Villiers proposed her for marriage in India. He proposed her at the Taj Mahal hotel of Mumbai in 2012. The couple got married in March 2013 and have two sons Abraham Benjamin and John Richard at present, who were born in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
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04
AB de Villiers holds the record for the fastest half-century, fastest century and fastest 150 in ODIs
AB de Villiers smashed the fastest fifty in One Day International in a match against West Indies on January 18, 2015. He scored 50 runs in just 16 balls. In the same match, he went on to score the fastest century by hitting 100 runs in just 31 balls. In the process, he also broke the long standing record of fastest century by Shahid Afridi (37 balls).
One month later, he also scored the world’s fastest 150 off 64 balls against West Indies. Moreover, he also holds the record of fastest hundred by a South African in Tests and the fastest 50 by South African in T20Is.
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05
Maximum Test innings without a duck
AB de Villiers holds the record of playing maximum innings in Tests without registering a duck. He played 78 innings in his Test career before getting out on a duck against Bangladesh in November 2008.
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06
He has wickets too
Although everyone is aware of the batting and wicket-keeping skills of AB, very few know that he also has bowling skills. He is a right arm medium pacer and has bowled in Tests and ODIs. He has a total of nine wickets to his name, of which two came in Tests and 7 in ODIs. His first wicket was of New Zealand’s Tom Latham.
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07
AB de Villiers is a Manchester United fan
We already discussed that AB de Villiers is a multi-sports person. He also has an interest in football and his favourite football club is Manchester United. He is a great fan of the English club.
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08
He is also an amazing guitar player and singer
Apart from sports, AB de Villiers also has an interest in music. He is an accomplished guitar player. Moreover, he has released a bilingual pop album with his friend and acclaimed South African singer Ampie du Preez. The album ‘Show Them Who You Are’ was released in 2008. In 2010, AB released his own first album titled ‘Maak Jou Drome Waar’ and it was signed to the Sony BMG label.
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09
AB de Villiers has an app for fans on Google Play store
Titled ‘AB de Villiers’, the app is available on Google Play Store for fans of AB. It gives information about whatever happens with AB on and off the field. It has access to exclusive content of the South African cricketer such as batting practices, live cricket, coaching techniques, family life etc.
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10
AB de Villiers has a book published on his life
AB de Villiers has also written an autobiography and he published it in September, 2016. The book gives an insight into the life of AB and his experiences of on and off the field. The book is titled ‘AB de Villiers’.