AB de Villiers hardly bothers about technical aspects of the game, says South Africa's performance analyst

Prasanna Agoram revealed that De Villiers rarely watches videos of his own batting

Prasanna Agoram, the performance analyst of the South African cricket team, claimed that AB de Villiers is not someone who is bothered about the technical aspects of the game and rarely spends time watching videos of his own batting.

Speaking to TOI, Agoram fondly recalled the time he spent as the technical head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) where he guided the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but added that he has no plans of quitting his post with the Proteas, one which he has held since 2010.

“I feel I belong to South Africa now. I don't think at all when my contract is going to end and when will the new one starts. The way I am being treated by the players, management, coaching staff and various people in CSA (Cricket South Africa) is amazing. That's kind of assurance I have here,” Agoram said.

Chennai-born Agoram has a long association with South Africa as it was his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise in the IPL, then coached by Ray Jennings and featuring players like Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn, that helped him get the job with the national team.

“I need to thank people like Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Ray Jennings. They saw me for three years how I was adding value to the team during the IPL,” he said.

With the passage of time, another South African has become the talisman for the Bangalore franchise along with Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli - AB de Villiers. Agoram is thrilled at having got the opportunity to interact with both the electrifying cricketers and heaped lavish praise on the duo, especially the South African ODI skipper.

“Whatever technical corrections AB wants to make, he does it himself, sometimes even during the game. For the last six years, he is one player, who has seen his batting less than anyone else. Some players like to watch their videos on the same day, some even at the ground while the match is on. But this man whether he scores 100 or duck, he hardly bothers about going through technical aspects,” he said.

De Villiers with Prasanna Agoram (right)

“Some players come for technical assistance; some players come for tactical assistance, but AB watches only the trends at the venue. AB has been given freedom to do express himself. He judges the situation and acts accordingly,” he added.

Agoram also talked about his familiarity with the Indian players having been associated with the NCA in his early days.

“I have worked with every player from that time who is now playing for India. I have seen them when they were small boys. I have seen Virat Kohli during his Under-15 days in North Zone 2004-05. None of them are strangers to me. Be it Ishant, Rohit, Cheteshwar, Ajinkya, Ravindra Jadeja, I have worked with them all in NCA during their junior days,” he said.

He added that he has high hopes from the trio of Kohli, Rohit and Pujara.

“I had given an interview in 2006 and told that the next generation of 10000 Test runs will be Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara when I saw them during Under-19 World Cup,” Agoram said.

When asked again as to whether he would like to work with the Indian team, Agoram replied: “I have already worked with BCCI at the National Cricket Academy and during Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006. I have been associated IPL right from its inception. My contract with CSA is till 2017. Only if they think I am not adding value to their team, I will think of other options but right now my heart is with South Africa.”