AB de Villiers is not worried about his form

Fans are not accustomed to watching South African batsman AB de Villiers struggle with the bat and have a lean phase. ‘Mr. 360°’ has never disappointed his supporters. But in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), de Villiers was miles away from his usual form. The South African batsman’s average in this year’s IPL was his lowest in 7 years. He scored just 216 runs with a strike rate of just above 130.

No wonder, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) languished at the bottom of the table and won just 3 games in 14 matches. But de Villiers does not feel he is going through a bad phase whatsoever and is confident of doing well in the Champions Trophy 2017. Cricketing hemisphere terms South Africa as ‘chokers’ as they do tend to lose their nerves in the crucial stages despite having a team full of stars.

AB de Villiers is confident 

“I am not worried about my form. I had a few decent knocks. I always felt in good form and am really excited to move forward. I might not have got a hundred, but I am hitting the ball as well as ever.” said de Villiers in a press conference. He also said that he can bat in any position and does not mind switching places with anyone. “I am not worried about where I bat. I have batted at number 4, but I am very happy to move around the order. I am not a stats-man so I don’t think what my average is batting at 6, 7 or 5. I am happy to bat where the team requires me to bat and will discuss that with the coach.” added AB in the press conference.

When asked about how confident the unit is before entering into the 8-team elite tournament, he said, “We have won the ICC Champions Trophy once before. I have been asked to repeat that. It was a long time back when that happened. I think we have been playing good cricket over the last few years.”

Every cricket fan over the globe was split in tears after they saw AB de Villiers cry after South Africa’s defeat against New Zealand in the World Cup 2015 semi-finals. He recalled the event and said they are confident of winning the Champions Trophy this time. “After the disappointment of the 2015 World Cup, we have done really well and raised the bar, and shared some really good result. We go in with confidence and we would like to win the trophy.”

AB is expecting a little one

AB de Villiers shared a light moment with the media representatives when asked about family and children. He made his views clear by saying “For me, family comes first.” He also announced that he is expecting another child. “I don’t know how it happened so quickly. A little one, and another one coming. They will come for the first two weeks. Then I will have to bid goodbye to them once the tournament starts,” the expecting father said.

He also praised South African national team coach Russell Domingo who was sitting next to him, for keeping the players away from their family once the tournament commences. “It is a really good move not to have family members over there for the tournament. It is a short tournament and only 5 games in total if you go to the final. It is going to be all focus on the team on how we are going to win the trophy. So it is good.”

South Africa is placed in Group B alongside defending champions India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They will be looking forward to putting up a good show so as to crush the tag of ‘chokers’.