AB de Villiers played for the wrong IPL franchise: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar blamed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for not allowing AB de Villiers to unlock his full potential in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar was asked whether Suryakumar Yadav has eclipsed AB de Villiers as Mr. 360. The former India batter rated Suryakumar higher in the shortest format. However, in Tests and ODIs, the cricketer-turned-commentator said that De Villiers was a far better player than India's current T20 captain.

Interestingly, Manjrekar dragged RCB into the conversation, saying that cricket enthusiasts would have seen the greatness of De Villiers had he played for another franchise.

"I'll say yes, because of the match-winning impact. AB was incredible. But AB's greatness was that he averaged 50 in Tests. Even in one day (ODIs). So, he's an amazing player. But only if you look at T20 cricket; I've seen both of them a lot. AB, in IPL, he was not used properly. His real ability," Manjrekar said on the Suryakumar versus De Villiers comparison.

"So, in IPL we didn't get that much juice out of him. Definitely (batted higher). And, sorry to say, but played for the wrong franchise. If he had played elsewhere, we could have seen the greatness of AB de Villiers," he added.

In spite of Manjrekar's hard-hitting comments, De Villiers is regarded as one of the finest performers in IPL history. Between 2011 and 2021, the legendary cricketer amassed 4,491 runs in the cash-rich league for RCB. He is the second-highest run-scorer for the franchise after Virat Kohli. De Villiers had an impressive average of 41.20 and a strike rate of 158.63 during his stint with the Bengaluru-based team.

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Meanwhile, Suryakumar is on the verge of leading India to a fourth consecutive T20I series win since taking over as full-time skipper in the format last year. The Men in Blue have taken a 2-0 lead against England in a five-match series. The third T20I is set to be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28.