AB de Villiers sarcastically responds to Pakistan journalist over non-striker run out in 2nd PAK vs AFG ODI

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers sarcastically replied to an X (previously known as Twitter) user from Pakistan regarding Vinoo Mankad's run out on Friday, August 25.

De Villiers' response came after the user shared commentator HD Ackermann’s stance on 'Mankading' during the second ODI between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which he termed a ‘very valid point.’ He wrote on X:

“The commentator, probably HD Ackerman, said: 'I don't have a problem with Mankad, but why don't teams do it in the 5th or 6th over of the innings? Why only towards the end of if? They just panic and they do it when they think it's the only way to win the match' Very valid point.”

AB De Villiers replied:

“Cause batters only try to steal runs towards the back end of an innings."

For the uninitiated, Fazalhaq Farooqi had Mankad run out Shadab Khan in the last over of the aforementioned game. The incident once again has led to the discussion of the spirit of cricket, despite it being valid according to the sport's rules.

Law 38.3, which pertains to the “Non-striker leaving his/her ground early” states:

“At any time from the moment, the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be Run out if he/she is out of his/her ground.”

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AB de Villiers reacts to Ravi Shastri’s idea of playing Virat Kohli at No.4

AB de Villiers, a former Virat Kohli’s teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore, has backed former India coach Ravi Shastri’s idea of playing the right-handed batter at No.4 in ODIs for India. He said on his YouTube channel on Friday, August 25:

"We're still talking about who will be the No. 4 batter for India. I've heard some rumors about Virat possibly taking up that position. I would be a big supporter of that.”

He continued:

"I think Virat is perfect for No. 4. He can put the innings together, and play any kind of role in that middle order. I don't know if he would like to do that."

De Villiers added:

"We know he loves his No. 3 position; he's scored all his runs there, but at the end of the day, if the team needs you to do something, or play a certain role, you have got to put your hand up and got for it."

Kohli, who batted at No.4 in the 2011 World Cup, has amassed 1767 in 39 ODI innings at an average of 55.21, including seven centuries, at the aforementioned position.