AB de Villiers highlights Virat Kohli’s growth over the years

Virat Kohli is not just the only player who’s played every season of the IPL for the same franchise since the inception of the tournament in 2008, but his growth from then to now has been nothing short of inspirational. Coming into the fold as an unpolished teenager, Virat admittedly went through countless transformations put in the hard yards to reach the pinnacle of sport.

However, his journey to stardom has had some influence from other senior cricketers, and speaking about one such player, RCB Hall of Famer AB de Villiers named his compatriot, Mark Boucher. 

Talking about Virat on his YouTube channel, de Villiers said, “I think everyone matures with age. As you grow, you learn a lot from experienced players and you realize that they’re not just your opponents but calm and relaxed individuals. Virat is smart and he has picked things from some coaches as well as teammates.”

He further added, “Mark Boucher had a crucial role to play at RCB when Virat was young and hopefully, I too had a good influence on him as a friend. He has found that right balance and I can’t wait to see him in the World Cup doing special things for Team India.”