Ab de Villiers international career
The batting maestro made his debut in a Test fixture against England in December 2004. Soon, he was given an opportunity in the other two formats. AB registered his highest score of 278* in the red-ball format against Pakistan in 2010.
In 2012, the swashbuckling batter started to lead South Africa in the ODI format. In the 2015 World Cup, AB mustered 149 off 44 balls against West Indies. He created a record for scoring the fastest century in the 50-over format, coming in just 31 balls.
He last featured for Proteas in 2018 in a test fixture against Australia and returned with a knock of 69 in one of the innings.
Illustrious IPL career
AB etched his name into the people's heart with his heroics for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Along with Virat Kohli and Gayle, RCB was one of the most popular franchises at that time. AB and Kohli put together a 229-run stand in IPL 2016, which is still the highest partnership for any wicket in the tournament.
The 38-year-old ranks sixth in the IPL batting charts with 5162 runs in 184 appearances of the cash-rich T20 league. Despite not playing international cricket, AB continued to feature for RCB until the 2021 season.
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