‘He does the impossible very easily’ – Aakash Chopra has a suggestion for RCB regarding AB de Villiers ahead of IPL 2021

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer, reckons that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) shouldn’t tinker with AB de Villiers’ batting position in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). De Villiers is currently sixth in the list of highest run-scorers in the history of the championship. In 169 matches, the right-hander has notched 4849 runs with three tons and 38 fifties.

Chopra feels that De Villiers has the potential to hammer bowling attacks of the highest quality and can win RCB matches from precarious positions. The veteran urged Virat Kohli and Co not to demote him down the order and rather, make optimum utilisation of his services.

If AB de Villiers bats at the right position, he will belt everyone: Chopra

“He (AB de Villiers) is a man from a different planet. We all feel he’s taking a risk, but he does the impossible very easily. I have a request for RCB – don’t go into matchups, like not sending him against leg spinners,” Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

“If he bats at the right position, he will belt everyone. Also, he might not have a lot of matches remaining in the IPL, so we can see him leaving an indelible impression this season,” Chopra added.

In the 2020 IPL, De Villiers, once, batted at number six during a game between RCB and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), now Punjab Kings (PBKS), at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar batted over him.

The decision had backfired as Dube and Sundar managed a combined tally of 36 runs off 33 balls with one four and two sixes. RCB went on to lose the game by eight wickets after posting 171 in their 20 overs.

Later, Kohli, the RCB skipper, put forth the reasons behind altering De Villiers’ batting position. “We had a chat, a message from outside about left-right combination and we wanted to go with it because they had two leggies [Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin],” Kohli had said.

“Sometimes things don’t come off. We’re pretty happy with the decisions we took, but it didn’t come off. Having 170 [171/6] was a decent score,” he added.