AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is a former South African professional cricketer
AB de Villiers is an outstanding South African cricketer who gained fame in the modern version of the game as a batsman. At the moment, he continues his career in the Indian club Royal Challengers Bangalore.
During his 15-year career, he has repeatedly confirmed the credit of trust entrusted to him with many awards and rewritten records. He is one of the five best cricketers of the decade.
AB de Villiers: brief information about the player
AB de Villiers (Abraham Benjamin de Villiers) was born in 1984 in a South African family of a doctor and a housewife. In his youth, the father of a cricketer had some relation to sports, so he cultivated the desire of his three sons to play sports. The youngest – AB, chose cricket.
De Villiers started his professional career in the South African team Northerns (2003-2004); a year later, he moved to the Titans (2004/05). In the same year, he was called up to the national team, where he made his debut in a Test against England (together with Dale Steyn). At that time, “Mr. 360” turned out to be so good that he received an invitation with only 16 professional matches under his belt. The national team management made the right choice because it was de Villiers who opened the score in that meeting.
After a brief professional decline in the 2006/07 season, the batsman rehabilitated in 2008. The confidence came after the match against the West Indies, where the South African demonstrated unprecedented efficiency. In the series against India (2008), de Villiers became the first South African to make a double century. In general, 2008 is considered the most productive year in the player’s Test statistics: 1061 runs on 58.94 on average.
For the first time, he came close to his own record in 2010, scoring 996 runs: the meeting against Pakistan turned out to be one of the best in his career. In the same season, the South African makes a series of three centuries in ODI – one against India and two against the West Indies.
For the second time, the cricketer was close to four figures in 2013, scoring 933 runs. During the same period, “Mr. 360” took over the reins of the national team after the resignation of Mark Boucher. However, the year was unsuccessful for the batsman: chronic back injuries made themselves felt.
A grand return occurred the following season. In January 2015, “Mr. 360” rewrites the record of the fastest century in ODI, for which he needed only 31 balls. Despite the performances of individual team members and the motivation of AB de Villiers, South Africa drops out at the semi-final stage.
AB de Villiers: achievements
The South African athlete scored over 8000 runs in Test during his career, including 22 centuries and 46 fifties. It is quite natural that many individual records accompanied such high results of de Villiers:
- the second player from South Africa to reach 1000 runs in the Test after Graeme Pollock;
- scored 7000 runs having spent a minimum of ODI matches on it;
- fastest century in ODI / for 31 balls (2015).
Also, the batsman was repeatedly awarded trophies of the highest category: the ICC ODI player of the year (2010, 2014, 2015), the best South African cricketer (2014, 2015), the best South African cricketer, according to fans (2015).
Consequently, the athlete’s career is rich in both professional achievements and well-deserved regalia.
AB de Villiers: interesting facts
Probably, some people know the South African as “Mr. 360”. De Villiers received this nickname for his extraordinary batsman abilities. Thanks to superhuman coordination, AB hits the ball from almost any position. Experts really noted that the range of blows of the South African is incredibly wide, and an increase in technical skills was observed throughout the development of his entire career.
An athlete can be considered a wealthy person. During his 15-year career, de Villiers has accumulated an impressive amount of capital. Today, he is one of the ten highest-paid cricketers of the Indian Premier League and ranks 4th in the list of the richest athletes in South Africa. The athlete’s annual income for 2020 amounted to $ 6.4 million, and even though the season was completed ahead of schedule. In recent years, it can be stated that the size of his salary has increased by about 140%.
At the same time, professional activity accounts for a smaller part of AB de Villiers’ earnings. According to official data, “Mr. 360” annually receives about $ 2.1 million for his services; all the rest is advertising activities. AB has contracts with global brands such as Audi, Montblanc, Puma, MRF. Previously, he worked with the South African gaming company Supersport and the local clothing brand Aca Joe.
At the same time, de Villiers is quite prudent. Perhaps the most expensive purchase of an aged batsman is a house in the prestigious area of Durban for $ 200,000. But the player’s car collection clearly does not correspond to his status: these are mainly premium brands from partners.
In principle, AB de Villiers has the main thing – a family. After five years of dating (2012), the athlete proposed to his girlfriend, Danielle Swart. The athlete has two sons and a daughter.
The cricketer has repeatedly admitted that he is a strong adherent of Christianity. However, he does not insist on this for his offspring.
It will seem surprising to many, but de Villiers has a reputation as an excellent guitarist and performer. Back in 2010, he even released his bilingual music album “Maak Jou Drome Waar”, recorded together with the popular South African singer Ampie du Preez.
The batsman did not fail to test his writing talent, having published his own autobiography in 2016.
