On Friday, November 19, cricket fans across the country especially Bengaluru were in for a shock when South African cricketer AB de Villiers took to his social media to make one of his biggest decisions, official.
"It has been an incredible journey, but I have decided to retire from all cricket," he wrote in his Instagram statement reasoning, "... I have played the game with pure enjoyment and unbridled enthusiasm. Now, at the age of 37, that flame no longer burns so brightly."
The RCB batsman who called himself "half Indian" in his farewell speech shared by the RCB page on Twitter, also wrote Thank you, Dankie, and Dhanyavaad in his Instagram post.
Giving due credit to his family for all their sacrifices and support during his time away from home, he stated that he is looking forward to the next chapter of his life.
"I am aware that nothing would have been possible without the sacrifices made by my family - my parents, my brothers, my wife Danielle and my children. I look forward to the next chapter of our lives when I can truly put them first," he further noted.
One of the best batsmen of his generation, the 37-year-old player was last seen on the field for an international match in April 2018. According to reports, his last ODI game for South Africa against India was at Centurion on February 16, 2018. During the IPL season 2021, while batting for RCB, he played around 15 matches and maintained a top strike rate of 151.68.
RCB fans already moping over the overwhelming rain weather in the city found themselves rather broody over his retirement announcement and said that city's Chinnaswamy stadium is going to miss him the most.
will always remember him walking down the chinnaswamy in that iconic red, to dazzle us one more time. the chants of “A B D, A B D” through the stadium will reverberate in my ears till the day i die. it’s all over, but the world got to witness his genius; it happened. pic.twitter.com/OaU9UrfuIy
— poorvika.? (@PoorvikaKumar) November 19, 2021
Another fan Prajakta wrote, "A farewell match at Chinnaswamy would have been a perfect farewell for this man, but covid had different plans."
ABD could've played one last match infront of red army's in Chinnaswamy.. The dream of seeing him again in Chinnaswamy remain incomplete.. @ABdeVilliers17#ThankYouABD pic.twitter.com/lBJTetNENE
— Ashraful Islam (@imAshraf_Vk) November 19, 2021
The RCB official page on Twitter put out a special post for all their fans with a few little emotional words from the man himself. His partnership with Virat Kohli was termed magical by fans.
“I’m going to be an RCBian for life. Every single person in the RCB set-up has become family to me. People come & go, but the spirit & the love we have for each other at RCB will always remain. I’ve become half Indian now & I’m proud of that.” - @ABdeVilliers17 #ThankYouAB pic.twitter.com/5b6RUYfjDY
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 19, 2021
Reacting to the retirement of the 'most inspirational person' he has met on the field, Virat Kohli wrote on Twitter, "To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I've met, you can be very proud of what you've done and what you've given to RCB my brother. Our bond is beyond the game and will always be."
"This hurts my heart but I know you've made the best decision for yourself and your family like you've always done. I love you," he further stated with a broken heart.
