Among the countless foreign personnel who have donned the RCB jersey, one of the most influential names is AB de Villiers. From smashing the ball beyond the ropes regularly to thrilling fans with his batting and agility on the field, de Villiers was a phenom in his heydays.

De Villiers recently returned to Bengaluru to be a part of the RCB Unbox where he was honoured in the Hall of Fame event, with his jersey No.17 retired by the franchise. In a recent episode of the RCB Bold Diaries, de Villiers was involved in a two-way interview with Chris Gayle where he answered questions on his association with the team and its loyal fans. 

Talking about what he felt about the Chinnaswamy stadium, de Villiers referred to a point Gayle made and said, “As you touched on it, it is like an incredible cricket ground. Same with me, as you mentioned that you would get yourself into trouble because you wanted to just bring out the best in us. It’s not a bad thing. The fans, the people, the team bus on the way, I would always remember those butterflies when I saw those fans going absolutely crazy.”

He further added, “When we were about to enter the Chinnaswamy, the crowd would absolutely go berserk. The people are so close to the field that they would always bring out the best in us and they are always that pumped up. That energy in them was so contagious that it would rub off me and it would leave me all stoked up. So, yeah, great memories.”

He also shed some light on his first interaction with Virat Kohli, adding, “I thought that he was quite cocky and arrogant when I met him for the first time. He had this hairstyle and smirk. But the moment I came to know him better, I knew that he was a different guy. The more I knew him, the more my respect for him grew as a human. I think that he has a barrier around him when I got to meet him for the first time. And that barrier opened up when I started interacting with him as a person. Lots of respect after our first meeting.”