Fear of failure always pushes me to focus more on the ball and do basics better: AB de Villiers

The season opener of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) locking horns against Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. One of the highlights of the game was the sensational power-hitting by the former South Africa captain AB de Villiers who played a sublime knock of 48 runs off 27 deliveries to take RCB home in the run-chase.

Over the years, AB has been a vital cog in RCB’s Playing XI and has performed for the team in crunch situations. Alongside skipper Virat Kohli, the Proteas is the backbone of the Bangalore outfit. When asked how he manages to perform year after year, the 37-year-old reckoned that it is the fear of failure that keeps him going.

“It’s not always very enjoyable. I try and play the situations that I am confronted with in the best possible way, sounds pretty simple. But the fact of the matter is that when you bat in the middle order, the situation changes every time. It’s a matter of adapting and trying to make the most of it…It comes off more often than not,” the Proteas legend told RCB ‘Bold Diaries’.

“But you always know that it’s possible that you are going to fail. Fear of failure always pushes me to focus more on the ball and do basics better. Try and get a start. It is important to start the first 20 balls well,” AB added.

To get back to decent form was a lot harder than before: AB de Villiers

The swashbuckling batsman has retired from international cricket and plays only in the Indian Premier League. Thus, AB last played competitive cricket during IPL 2020. Elaborating on how hard it is to regain the form in IPL 2021 after not playing any game for the past five months, the wicketkeeper said that he has been quite disciplined regarding his physical fitness.

“I must say the work to get back to decent form was a lot harder than before and the last match I played was in last IPL. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t put in the hard yards and I started about two months ago. I had 2-3 months off, stayed fit in the gym and I started hitting cricket balls. Enough to get me to space, to get me going,” de Villiers said.