5 Bowlers who can neutralize AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is currently the hottest talking point in the cricket fraternity. It would not be wrong to say that de Villiers has graduated to a level of batting where he can be regarded as the best batsman in modern cricket as far as ODIs is concerned.

Every adjective in admiration of him seems to be just an understatement these days. Such has been his achievements and his batting style in the past few years. His exploits in the ‘Freedom’ series was just another reminder that AB de Villiers is a batsman who is out of the league and certainly ahead of his time in terms of batting.

It was almost a decade ago when AB de Villiers made his debut for South Africa as an opener. After initially starting as an opener, he slowly came down the batting order to suit the needs of the team. In the first five years of his career, he was just a ‘normal batsman’.  He, however, has proved himself as an innovator. His batting innovations have helped him reach the peak of his performances in the last five years of his career, literally making him an immortal with the bat.

Bowlers all over the world are having a tough time in containing his run-scoring proficiency. Usually, captains and bowler take the field with a plan about “how to get a batsman out”. However, in AB’s case nowadays, the major focus is to just stop him from flourishing.

But, there are a few bowlers in world cricket who have the capability of giving him a tough challenge. And thus we analyze five bowlers, who have it in them to neutralize Mr. AB de Villiers and his runs fests.

Here we look at 5 Bowlers who can neutralize AB de Villiers:

1. Mitchell Starc:

Mitchell Starc started his career in the Australian squad playing under the shadow of Mitchell Johnson. Few years back, Shane Warne tagged him as a ‘soft’ after he a breakdown during a Test match. It seems like he took that statement too seriously. Mitchell Starc has re-invented himself in the last few years. He has become more like the tough Australian full of self-belief and confidence. His bowling had pace but lacked proper line and length which isn’t an issue now.

The results speak for his tremendous improvement. The newest feature of his left arm fast bowling is his impeccable yorkers which always land in the pinpoint areas. De Villiers likes the pre-meditated sort of game and plays with the bowlers mind. But, Starc’s pace and sharp cricketing mind will not allow AB de Villiers to move in the crease freely. This point is not to interpret that Starc would effectively stop de Villiers. But, he is a bowler who can definitely force AB to change his initial plans.