New Delhi: Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter AB de Villiers was recently inducted into RCB’s ‘Hall of Fame’ along side his former teammate Chris Gayle. RCB Unbox event wherein Royal Challengers Bangalore also unveiled their new jersey for the upcoming IPL 2023 campaign at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
"These are the nights that never die!" 🎶
We all struggled to hold back our tears when the hall of fame induction ceremony of Mr.360 & the Universe Boss happened at Namma Chinnaswamy 🏅
Jersey Numbers 1️⃣7️⃣ & 3️⃣3️⃣3️⃣ will be remembered forever! 🥹#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/GPmcyh2Kuw
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 28, 2023
ABD thanks RCB, Virat Kohli
The 39-year-old shared an emotional note on his Instagram handle and thanked his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, and former teammate Virat Kohli.
Heartfelt note from AB
He took to Instagram to share his emotions with a heartfelt note.
“I don’t know where to start really. So March 26th 2023 Chris and I were inducted into the RCB hall of fame and our jersey numbers retired forever. My heart blossomed as my wife, two boys and little girl walked up the stairs to enter our RCB den, stairs that I have walked up so many times with butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It felt weird to walk up there in a different state of mind,” he wrote on Instagram
“Tears filled my eyes when I stepped on to the balcony of our dressing room at the Chinnaswamy in front of a packed stadium. I never thought hearing the chants of ABD could beat the first time, but this time was different. It used to be adrenalin combined with an extreme hunger to please the cry out of our fans to find a way to win, this time it was a sea of emotion that filled my body as I simply felt grateful to have had my time in the arena representing a proud city, an amazing franchise and incredible teammates,” AB added.
“So many special memories rushed back as I thought of all my days spent in India since 2003, I have a deep connection with this country and its people. I’ll forever be grateful! Thank you, teammates, especially Virat, thank you RCB, thank you Bengaluru,” he signed off.
AB de receives special gesture from RCB
During the event, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers were presented with special mementos and as a special gesture, RCB retired their jersey numbers (333 and 17) as well.
AB de’s IPL career
AB de Villiers had some of his most productive years in the IPL with RCB. He played 144 games with close to 5,000 runs and at a strike rate of 158.6. He also holds the record for the top two highest partnerships in IPL history with Virat Kohli, adding 200 runs twice.
