"He's an absolute pain to play against" - Former RCB star makes stunning revelation about his initial dislike for Virat Kohli

Former South African batter AB de Villiers recently disclosed that he was not fond of Virat Kohli before he came to know him as a person. The 41-year-old said that the former India captain was as competitive as he was, which led to him disliking the 36-year-old.

Kohli and de Villiers were teammates at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) between 2011 and 2021 and shared two double century partnerships, in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

"Virat is like one of my cricketing brothers, someone I really grew fond of when I got to know him better. He's an absolute pain to play against, so before I knew him I didn't really like him a lot because he was so good and so competitive, very similar to me with that competitive nature," De Villiers said in an ICC video (via Times of India).

The South African said that once he got to know to Kohli, their bond grew stronger with each passing year. He also said that he "probably enjoyed every second" playing with him.

"Then I got to know him at RCB, I got to know him a lot better. We became family friends, became brothers and also became great partners at the wicket when we played together, really understood each other out there and I probably enjoyed every second of playing with him," De Villiers said.

AB de Villiers' tribute to Virat Kohli after latter annouces Test retirement

The cricketing world was taken aback on Monday, May 12, when Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket. AB de Villiers paid tribute to the Indian batter, saying he was inspired by his determination and skill.

Kohli retired from Test cricket after scoring 9230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85. He had retired from T20Is in June 2024 after winning the World Cup in Barbados. Kohli will continue to play ODI cricket for India with his first assignment likely to be the three-match series against Bangladesh in August.