IPL 2024

AB de Villiers gives his first impressions of Virat Kohli when the two played together at Bangalore

The Bangalore franchise have been one of the most popular in the Indian T20 League. They have made it to three finals in the tournament. The franchise have also made it to the playoffs in the last three seasons. Virat Kohli has led Bangalore for a long time. He has been with the franchise since 2008.

Bangalore,  recently, had hosted the unboxing event at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Over there, AB de Villiers gave his first impressions on Kohli. He said he had found the former India captain ‘cocky and arrogant’ when he met the first time. When de Villers and Kohli met, Kohli was a 2011 World Cup winner. He was part of the Indian side with MS Dhoni at the helm.

He has got to be a bit down to earth- AB de Villiers on early impressions on Virat Kohli

“Oh my goodness I have had this question before and I had given this answer before as well. I think he was quite cocky and arrogant when I met him the first time. With that hairstyle and he had bit of a strut going yes flamboyant, absolutely. But the minute I got to know him a bit better and watched him play I mean I’ve got as much respect for him but I got to know him better as a human being”, De Villiers said at the unbox event.

“I think he had a barrier around him when I met him the first time and that barrier opened up and I got to know the person. I didn’t not like him but you know what I’m saying. He’s a top person now but first impression was ufff he’s got to come down to earth a bit,” De Villiers added.

The Indian T20 League will be held across 12 venues this season. The last three seasons were held in controlled crowd environment. The last season was entirely held in Mumbai. Four grounds were used for conducting the games. The home and away format comes back after three long years. Gujarat won the 2022 season as debutants in the tournament and Lucknow had a top 4 finish.