"I thought he was quite cocky" - AB de Villiers recalls his first meeting with Virat Kohli

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter AB de Villiers recently opened up on his experience of meeting Virat Kohli for the first time.

The South African legend joined RCB in 2011 and immediately connected with Kohli. They formed the backbone of RCB’s batting for nearly a decade in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, the former Proteas skipper revealed that he found Kohli extremely cocky in the beginning, but things changed soon after he got to know the Indian batter closely.

Speaking to Chris Gayle in a video released by RCB, De Villiers said:

"I’ve heard this question before. I’m going to give an honest answer. I thought he was quite cocky when I met him for the first time. He had this hairstyle going and he was quite flamboyant.

"But the minute I got to know him better as a human, I think he had a barrier around him when I met him for the first time, that barrier opened up. Lot’s of respect after that first meeting. He is a top man but my first impression was like woah."

Kohli and De Villiers now share a bond beyond the cricket field and have both been very vocal about it in public.

The ex-Indian skipper recently expressed his love for his former teammate during the RCB Unbox event at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, March 26.

"It brought the best out of us" - AB de Villiers on what makes Chinnaswamy special

Thank you, ABD.

📷 : RCB

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RCB have one of the most loyal fan bases in the world. Fans are also known to back their players even when things get tough and the team doesn't perform well.

AB de Villiers highlighted that the constant support from fans brings the best out of the RCB cricketers. Speaking about what makes Chinnaswamy special, the Proteas legend said:

"It's an incredible cricket ground. Same with me, as you just mentioned, you get yourself into trouble because you just want to keep going. But at the same time, it brought the best out of us, so it's not a bad thing. Just the fans, the people on our way, I will always remember fans going absolutely crazy as we were about to enter Chinnaswamy. Absolutely great memories."

De Villiers was recently inducted into RCB's Hall of Fame and his jersey No. 17 was retired as a mark of respect for their contributions.