AB de Villiers names former Pakistani quick Mohammed Asif as one of the bowlers he wished to had never faced during the early days of his career.
Former South African legend AB de Villiers is known as one of the most fearless figures in world cricket, often believed to have frightened opposition with his relentless hitting and ability to generate runs on even the toughest of deliveries.
ABD has played over a decade for the Proteas, while his career also spans over a decade in various franchise-level competitions, the most notable being Royal Challengers Bangalore, a team where he has spent many years and has made the fans witness some extraordinary batting masterclasses.
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AB de Villiers reveals the bowler he feared the most
In a recent podcast appearance on Subhankar Mishra’s YouTube podcast, AB de Villiers, the fearless king and Mr. 360 of cricket, was asked about who that one bowler is whom he would have never wanted to face in international cricket.
Keeping aside the likes of greats like Mitchell Starc, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, James Anderson, or Lasith Malinga, he has named former Pakistani paceman Mohammed Asif as one of his most feared opponents.
AB de Villiers made his debut back in 2004 for South Africa. During those days, the Pakistan bowling attack consisted of sheer pacers like Mohammed Asif and Shoaib Akhtar. Asif was known for his sheer pace, spot-on accuracy, and toe-crushing yorkers, which often baffled the batters.
De Villiers reveals that his playing style had some flaws during those days; probably he had a much higher bat lift, and that was the reason he was way too troubled by Asif. The veteran batter also said he would now love to play against the bowler after he has clarity over his batting technique.
Mark AB de Villiers’ exact words in this reel:
A Glimpse of ABD’s glorious International career
Having made his debut in Test Cricket for South Africa back in 2004, AB de Villiers has played international cricket till 2018. In his glorious career that spanned over 14 years, he has played not only for South Africa but also for several other franchises in India, England, Australia, the Caribbean, Bangladesh, and even Pakistan.
In his long career, de Villiers is among the very few batters to have maintained a career average of 50+ in both Tests and ODIs. He has amassed 8765 Test runs and has also scored 9577 ODI runs, and he announced his retirement despite going through the best of patches in international cricket.
ABD averages 50.66 in Tests and 53.50 in ODIs, while he has amassed 20000+ runs in international cricket. He is the recipient of several records, one of them being the fastest ODI hundred in the history of the game.
Pakistan Champions lost the WCL final to South Africa Champions
After the walkover handed by the defending champions, India Champions, to Pakistan Champions in the first semi-final of WCL 2025, they made it to the finals to feature against South Africa Champions, who came after defeating Australia Champions in the semis.
A good batting show by the Pakistan Champions as they set a target of 196 for the Proteas. However, two of South Africa’s greatest cricketers in the shortest format of the game, AB de Villiers and Jean Paul Duminy, slammed the Pakistan bowlers to chase it down with 19 balls remaining in the innings.
ABD was named the player of the match for an unbeaten 120 off just 60 balls, and he was also the Player of the tournament for having amassed 429 runs in 6 innings with 3 hundreds to his name. South Africa Champions are the winners of WCL Season 2.
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