No Virat Kohli as AB de Villiers picks the 5 best cricketers he played with in Tests

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villiers was put in a spot as he named the five best players he played Test cricket with. The former South African appeared on the 'Beard Before Wicket' podcast.

AB de Villiers first picked his former South African teammate and one of the best all-rounders, Jacques Kallis. He then picked former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. De Villiers then named former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif and the late Shane Warne.

For his final pick, he named the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. On the podcast, England spinner Adil Rashid then reminded him that he missed Virat Kohli's name. AB de Villiers and Kohli are known for the close friendship and bond that they share on and off the field.

The RCB legend then stated that it was difficult to answer such questions, as it was not possible to have everyone on the list.

"Kallis, Flintoff, Mohammad Asif, Warne. Sachin with the crowds. Just the way he was acknowledged while walking out to bat. It was like a standstill moment. Beautiful the way he batted. Virat. Sorry. Sachin-Virat. That's why it's difficult to answer such questions," he said. (1:06:42)

De Villiers made his Test debut in 2004. The right-hander played 114 games and made 8756 runs at an average of 50.66 with 22 hundreds and 46 half-centuries. He last played in the format in 2018 against Australia at Johannesburg, scoring a fifty in the first innings.

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AB de Villiers names players who he would have in his all-time World XI

AB de Villiers was also asked to pick his all-time World XI in the same podcast. The former South African batter stated that he disliked such questions, as they would always rush him while answering, and he could not recall all the names. He recalled how he once left Sachin Tendulkar out of his World XI, and it became a major headline.

"It's a tough one that. I hate that question. Someone put me on the spot and I think I said Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting. The next minute the headlines in India were AB doesn't pick Sachin in his World XI. I'm like oh my gosh! You just rush through it. You have to be specific with the formats. Very difficult also to compare generations," he said. (1:04:55)

However, he did pick some names he would have in his all-time World XI. AB de Villiers named the players he considered his heroes while growing up and watching the game. He included the likes of Jacques Kallis, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, and Glenn McGrath, along with Sachin.

"I'll have a fair idea of Sachin as captain, opening the batting. I'll be going back to my heroes, the Haydens, Pontings, Lara's, those guys. Kallis. Kallis would be my first pick. Best all-rounder of all time. Maybe even best cricketer of all time. It's arguable. Bowlers, you can have a lot of fun with. Warnes, McGraths. It's a tough one," he added.

He also played 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is. In the 50-over game, he scored 9577 runs at an average of 53.50 with 25 hundreds and 53 half-centuries. In T20Is, he made 1672 runs at a strike-rate of 135.16 with 10 fifties.