"That phone call was pretty tough to take" - Mike Hesson on RCB legend AB de Villiers announcing IPL retirement

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson, has accepted that legendary batter AB de Villiers retiring from the IPL after the 2021 edition was a tough pill to swallow.

One of the best overseas players to grace the IPL, De Villiers was arguably RCB's biggest match-winner and has won them numerous games from improbable situations.

Speaking on the RCB podcast, here's what Mike Hesson had to say about them convincing AB de Villiers to play for longer:

"We tried to talk him (De Villiers) out of retirement, 100 percent, because he is a genius. We were planning things for the year ahead and to get that phone call was pretty tough to take. But after a point you realize that you have to respect the decision he took and it will be pretty wrong on my part to push him past a point."

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RCB will try to get AB de Villiers involved: Mike Hesson

AB de Villiers recently spoke on social media that he would be back at the Chinnaswamy to thank the crowd as he couldn't bid them a proper farewell at the end of IPL 2021.

However, Mike Hesson has claimed that they will try their best to ensure De Villiers remains part of RCB in some capacity. He stated:

"ABD will always be a part of RCB and we will try to get him back in some involvement that suits him and suits us as well. We know how much he loves RCB and his relation with Virat."

Under a new leader in Faf du Plessis, RCB did really well to finish in third place in the IPL 2023 season by winning the Eliminator. They do have a great mix of quality Indian core and overseas superstars, and will be keen to finally end their wait for a maiden IPL trophy this year.