One of the best foreign players to have participated in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is AB de Villiers. But he failed to obtain the desired title. Over the course of 11 seasons, the right-handed hitter amassed nearly 5000 runs with a strike rate of 158.63, making him a legend of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The former South African cricket player has faced and played with some of the best players to ever play in the IPL. AB de Villiers revealed his all-time IPL XI on the sidelines of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025, and it included some intriguing selections.
AB de Villiers selected Matthew Hayden and Rohit Sharma to begin, with his long-time buddy Virat Kohli coming in at number three. Suryakumar Yadav, the current captain of the Indian T20I team, is ranked No. 4, just ahead of de Villiers. The team’s only all-round player, Hardik Pandya, bats at number six.
The inspired MS Dhoni was chosen by De Villiers to be both his captain and wicketkeeper. In de Villiers’ lineup, the 44-year-old will bat at number seven. Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah will be the pace duo in the interim. When they were teammates with the Mumbai Indians, they made a fearsome duo. The sole Indian spinner in the lineup is Yuzvendra Chahal, who has taken the most wickets in the history of the league. Daniel Vettori, the current head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, will be his partner.
Legends from the past like Hayden, Malinga, and Vettori are mixed up with today’s top players like Kohli, Suryakumar, and Bumrah in AB de Villiers’ team.
Rohit Sharma, Matthew Hayden, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lasith Malinga, and Daniel Vettori are the players that make up AB de Villiers’ all-time IPL XI.
In the WCL 2025 finals, De Villiers helped the South Africa Champions win the championship by smashing a violent century against the Pakistani champions. With three hundreds to his credit, he was the tournament’s top run scorer.
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