Former South Africa skipper and Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday. de Villiers took to his social media handles to share the news through an emotional statement. Following the announcement, messages from his teammates, other players, and fans flooded social media, bidding him an emotional farewell. Among the tributes, an emotional message from former RCB skipper and AB’s teammate Virat Kohli remains a standout. The Kohli-De Villiers duo was involved in several memorable partnerships in the Indian Premier League for RCB. Kohli took to Twitter on Friday to pen down a heartfelt note for his former teammate and called him the most inspirational person he has met.
Kohli said in a tweet, “To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I’ve met, you can be very proud of what you’ve done and what you’ve given to RCB my brother. Our bond is beyond the game and will always be."
To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I've met, you can be very proud of what you've done and what you've given to RCB my brother. Our bond is beyond the game and will always be.— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 19, 2021
What caught the attention of fans was another tweet, where Kohli said, “This hurts my heart but I know you’ve made the best decision for yourself and your family like you’ve always done. I love you @ABdeVilliers17." AB too, replied to this tweet saying, “Love u too my brother."
This hurts my heart but I know you've made the best decision for yourself and your family like you've always done. I love you @ABdeVilliers17— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 19, 2021
Love u too my brother— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) November 19, 2021
While their bromance was quite visible on the field, it is also a known fact that they shared a similar relationship. Fans, therefore could not ignore this emotional exchange between the legends.
Never heard him say ily except to his wife. This is https://t.co/uZT8LJFsfY— Pooja Bhansali (@pooja_deven) November 19, 2021
It hurts @ABdeVilliers17 #AbDevillers https://t.co/r8wtRt2RCJ— srijon chakraborty (@srijonchakrabo4) November 19, 2021
he's so hurt. He never tweeted so emotionally #viratkohli https://t.co/PddCJRKiBJ— (@Avocadooooo0) November 19, 2021
One of the best bonds in cricket ❤️❤️❤️ , broken by RCB ,,,"paji tum met jao "@ABdeviliers17 @imVkohli https://t.co/EGR09P0j41— Amitdutta (@amitduttawapka) November 19, 2021
After his international retirement in 2018, De Villiers had continued to play in franchise cricket, notably for RCB in the IPL. Friday’s retirement from all forms of the game marks the end of his decade-long association with the franchise. RCB shared a video of De Villiers where he expressed his emotions and thoughts on the retirement.
“Today, I am gonna be making a big announcement, a very emotional announcement, that I have finished with all formats and all cricket all around. I do have a smile on my face because I think I am making the right decision but obviously, I am incredibly sad and have lots of emotions and thoughts going through my mind. All the years of playing cricket, there’s a lot of mixed emotions,” he said.
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