'RCB or MAN-U, Chinnaswamy or Supersport Park' - AB de Villiers reveals his favorites in fun chat with Jemimah Rodrigues

AB de Villiers may not have had the most promising start to the second leg of Indian Premier League 2021, but the South African legend is pretty sure that Royal Challengers Bangalore are ready to lift the elusive IPL trophy this season. In a chat with Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues on ‘Dream11 Dil Ya Dimaag’ de Villiers picked his franchise over Manchester United and M Chinnaswamy Stadium over Supersport Park.

Rodrigues put the Manchester United fan in de Villiers in a spot asking him to choose between Red Devils winning their first Premier League title since 2012 and RCB taking home their first-ever IPL trophy, the South African said, “We’re ready to lift that IPL Trophy.” Notably, the RCB are yet to taste success in the IPL, having qualified for the final three times (2009, 2011 and 2016).

De Villiers was asked to pick a stadium where he enjoyed scoring runs the most and pat came his reply. “Definitely Chinnaswamy, I no longer play international cricket, so, when I come to the Chinnaswamy and put my RCB jersey on, there’s nothing that beats that,” said de Villiers, whose team will take on Chennai Super Kings tonight at Sharjah.

Even though he has retired from international cricket, de Villiers backed himself over RCB skipper Virat Kohli when asked who he would choose to score 20 runs off the last over. But he wore his Proteas heart on his sleeve when Rodrigues asked him to go back in time and win one game between 2015 World Cup Semifinal and 2016 IPL Final. “The World Cup is something that I grew up wanting. It was my first dream growing up as a young boy starting to play cricket.”

AB de Villiers represented South Africa in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is, amassing 8765, 9577 and 1672 runs, with 47 centuries and 109 half-centuries. The now 37-year-old announced his retirement from all formats of cricket in May 2018 but is still active in the Indian Premier League. In 177 IPL matches, de Villiers has 5056 runs at a strike rate of 152.34, including 3 centuries and 40 half-centuries.

Here’s the whole conversation between Jemimah Rodrigues and AB de Villiers: