As one of the many kids growing up in the 90s and binging on cricket, it was fascinating to observe and identify cricketers with their bat sponsors. While Rahul Dravid was associated with the red and white Britannia logo for the most part of his career, Ricky Ponting didn’t seem to have used anything other than his beloved Kookaburra bat, invariably strapped with a green or white grip.However, none could match the charm of the MRF bat in the hands of the Little Master, shared by only two other greats of his generation: Brian Lara and Steve Waugh. When Sachin Tendulkar switched to Adidas in the twilight of his career, another budding sensation, Virat Kohli started playing with the three-lettered bat. Now on the cusp of becoming one of the legends of the game, Kohli’s legacy as a modern great is challenged by just a handful of current international players, one of whom is his RCB teammate, AB de Villiers.
The South African superstar is the newest to join the MRF bandwagon, and will now sport the company’s logo on his bat. Gearing for a comeback after recuperating from an elbow injury, he tweeted about his association with the Indian tyre manufacturing company, sharing a picture of his first net session in close to five months with the words: “Great to have my new MRF bat in my hands..”He last played for the Proteas in West Indies as part of the tri-series in June this year, De Villiers has spent most of his off-field time recovering from the injury and promoting his recently released autobiography, ‘AB’.
He took part in the Caribbean Premier League in July, but struggled with an exacerbation of the elbow injury, ruling him out of the game for the rest of the year.
He is expected to be back for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth, taking over the captaincy mantle from Faf du Plessis, the current South African skipper who has been handling the troops in the absence of De Villiers.
Before the Sri Lanka series, he has made himself available for the CSA T20 challenge, and is expected to wear the Titans jersey in their final two group games.
Currently, apart from Virat Kohli, another cricketer who currently plays with the MRF bat is his teammate, Shikhar Dhawan. Others, such as Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Sanju Samson, have been seen endorsing the MRF logo in the past.
Also read: Why Faf du Plessis is a better captain than AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla
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