IPL 2021: "AB de Villiers said it does not matter to him whether you play him at No.5 or on Mars" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra has lauded AB de Villiers' match-winning performances for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2021 despite being made to bat lower down in the order.

AB de Villiers predominantly batted at No.5 for RCB, with Glenn Maxwell sent ahead of him. The strategy worked wonders as the duo emerged as the highest run-getters for RCB in IPL 2021.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra termed AB de Villiers a 'genius' for dishing out exemplary performances in his new role at No.5 in the batting order.

"AB de Villiers is a genius. It is because all of us were saying that he should be batted up the order because the more deliveries you give him, the more impact he will have. But RCB was sending him at No.5. If you are sending him at No.5, how will the team and he do well? But AB de Villiers said it does not matter to him whether you play him at No.5 or in Mars, he will be absolutely fine," said Chopra.

The former India player was particularly appreciative of AB de Villiers' exhilarating knock against the Kolkata Knight Riders on the slow Chepauk surface.

"The knock he played against KKR was an absolute belter of an innings. He hit a flurry of fours and sixes while no one was able to score runs on that ground in the last four overs. But it was the class of AB de Villiers, who delivered once again," pointed out Chopra.

AB de Villiers smashed an unbeaten 76 off just 34 deliveries in that encounter. The knock, which was studded with nine fours and three sixes, helped RCB breach the 200-run mark and they eventually won the match by 38 runs.

Man of the Match : RCB vs KKR - AB de VilliersAB talks about the Chennai surface, and admits that he surprises himself at times when he gets going, as he receives the Man of the Match award.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 #RCBvKKR #DareToDream pic.twitter.com/nWhp08MdDJ

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 19, 2021

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"An AB de Villiers named storm had come" - Aakash Chopra

AB de Villiers played an unbeaten 75-run knock against the Delhi Capitals [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra also spoke in glowing terms about AB de Villiers' belligerent unbeaten 75 against the Delhi Capitals which helped RCB register a one-run win.

"He played another knock against Delhi. There was a storm which had come but before that an AB de Villiers named storm had come and blew the opposition team away with his amazing performance," said Chopra.

A breath-taking innings that helped us set up a hard fought win against the Delhi Capitals. Congratulations to @ABdeVilliers17 for getting a gold coin from @MuthootIndia!! 👏🏻👏🏻#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #DCvRCB #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/igXg8ClEvc

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 28, 2021

The former KKR player concluded by hailing AB de Villiers as the game-changer for RCB in crucial matches.

"He is that kind of a player. Wherever you play him, he brings the best out of himself. It was just the AB class that actually made the difference in crucial encounters against KKR and Delhi," signed off Chopra.

AB de Villiers has scored 207 runs at an excellent average of 51.75 and a stupendous strike rate of 164.28 in IPL 2021 to date. Apart from his knocks against KKR and DC, the Proteas great also made a telling contribution in RCB's win against the Mumbai Indians in the opening match of IPL 2021.