"Whenever I bowled at him, I felt that I could get AB de Villiers out easily" - Shoaib Akhtar on Proteas superstar
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar revealed that he knew AB de Villiers would go on to become one of the best batters the game has ever seen.
The 46-year-old recalled his interaction with a young De Villiers back in 2008 when the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was about to begin. Shoaib Akhtar had told the then prodigy that he would definitely captain his country one day and also become one of the greatest the game has seen.
Speaking to Sportskeeda on the show "SK Tales," here's what Akhtar had to say about his duel with De Villiers:
"I met AB de Villiers in 2008 when the IPL was about to begin. We were standing and having some fun in a private party in Delhi. That's where I told him, 'You are going to captain South Africa soon and will become one of the greatest players ever.' Luckily whenever I bowled at him, I felt that I could get AB de Villiers out easily."
Shoaib Akhtar also revealed how he plotted AB de Villiers' dismissal when they faced each other in IPL 2008. He added:
"When we played in the IPL, I knew he would play the pull shot but he will be late because the pace is too much. That's exactly what happened as he was caught at mid-wicket."
Was disappointed, angry when AB de Villiers announced retirement: Shoaib Akhtar
De Villiers and Shoaib Akhtar have also had mutual respect off the field and the same was seen on Twitter a few days ago. De Villiers tweeted a video of Akhtar bowling a nasty bouncer to Shane Watson and stated that he still gets nightmares.
You can view the tweet here:
@ShaneRWatson33 @shoaib100mph Oh man! I still get nightmares 😂
Akhtar believes de Villiers is a great human being and revealed that he was disappointed when the South African announced his retirement. He stated:
"Me and him have a lot of banters. He had tweeted that he gets nightmares. But even I get nightmares because when AB is in full form then he is very destructive. What an athlete, what a character, what a great family guy."
The former speedster added:
"I was very disappointed and also angry when he announced his retirement. I had also made a video that he shouldn't have done that. But what great contribution to cricket as a South African, hats off! "
De Villiers recently revealed that he might be back in the IPL next season in some kind of support staff role with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).