‘Of course, he is just phenomenal’ – VVS Laxman heaps praises on AB de Villiers for his creativity, fitness and appetite

Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman has praised AB de Villiers for his exceptional batting skills. According to the cricketer turned commentator and mentor, the South African, even after retiring from international cricket, has continued to take breaths away from the fans with his batting skills. 

The former Proteas skipper announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018, but since then has been active playing in various T20 franchise leagues. He has been one of the stars of the IPL and continues to be a vital batsman for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. In this season so far, he has taken his side to a win twice and his batting consistency has ensured that Bangalore started their campaign with three straight wins. 

On Sunday, de Villiers played a brilliant knock of 76 runs from 34 balls, which was filled with some unreal shots around the park. While writing in his column for the Times of India, Laxman heavily lauded the 37-year-old. He appreciated the innovativeness of the batsman and noted that year after year, he is able to produce some outstanding knocks. 

You think you have seen it all, and yet, year after year, he takes your breath away: VVS Laxman on de Villiers

“AB, of course, is just phenomenal. You think you have seen it all, and yet, year after year, he takes your breath away with his innovativeness and creativity. He doesn’t play international cricket any longer, so it’s a little short of amazing that he continues to retain his passion, zest, fitness, and appetite,” Laxman wrote in his column. 

Laxman is a part of the support staff of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the IPL 2021. He further advised that no young batsman should copy ABD’s style of batting as it is quite impossible to do so. However, he mentioned that one could take learnings from his work ethics. Laxman also had a word of praise for Delhi Capitals’ batsman Shikhar Dhawan. 

“I wouldn’t recommend that young batsmen attempt to emulate his [AB de Villiers’s] stroke-play because that’s impossible, but there is so much to learn from his work ethic and his commitment. In that regard, AB and Shikhar have established themselves as the leading lights of the competition so far,” Laxman concluded.

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