"Virat grew up with cricket in his blood" - AB de Villiers hails Virat Kohli for striking perfect balance in his career

South African legend AB de Villiers praised Virat Kohli for his fire to play the game at a high level, crediting his ability to strike the ideal balance between his career and family.

While De Villiers retired from international cricket at 34 in 2018, Kohli continues to break records at will at the rightful age of 35. The former Indian skipper recently scaled the 50 ODI centuries mark in the 2023 World Cup semi-final.

Kohli also finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer with a single edition record of 765 runs, overtaking Sachin Tendulkar's 573-run tally in the 2003 World Cup.

Speaking to ANI News, De Villiers admired Kohli's ability to keep the fire in his cricket going even at the latter stages of his career.

"Virat grew up with cricket in his blood. This is what kept him going. At the end of my career, my fire was burnt and I called it quits. It is important to keep that fire burning. He has found a nice balance in his career, has a family and spends time with them. I could have done this better. He looks happy on the field, looks motivated and I wish him all the luck," said De Villiers

De Villiers played with Kohli at RCB for 11 years from 2011 to 2021, and when asked about his possible return to the franchise in some capacity, he said:

"I have not spoken to anyone, nor has anyone contacted me. If there is an offer on table, I will sign it as a friend, not as a coach or mentor. I would be happy to share my knowledge and experience with the players. Maybe down the line we will get a more professional role, but I am happy where I am."

De Villiers retired from the IPL after the 2021 season and is the sixth leading run-scorer with 5,162 runs in 184 games.

The 39-year-old scored his runs at a sensational average of 39.70 and a strike rate of almost 152 and was part of the RCB side that made final runs in 2011 and 2016.

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"The gameplan was conservative from both teams on day one. It was wrong" - AB de Villiers on the recent Cape Town Test

Wickets fell like nine pins on the opening day of the Cape Town Test.

AB de Villiers feels the batters from India and South Africa took the conservative approach that resulted in 23 wickets on the opening day of the second Test at Cape Town.

After winning the toss and batting first, the Proteas folded for their lowest Test score of 55 since readmission. In reply, India fared only slightly better, scoring 153 in their first innings. Day 1 ended with the hosts batting at 62/3 in their second essay.

"It was normal to me. Newlands is known for a lively day-one first session. If you fight your way through it, it gets easier. You have to play positive cricket here. Aiden Markram scored a century and those who played positively did well. The gameplan was conservative from both teams on day one. It was wrong. You have to take on the bowlers. If you let them bowl to you, it will be difficult to survive," said AB de Villiers.

Despite a breathtaking century in the second innings from Aiden Markram, India had to chase only 79 in their final innings.

The Rohit Sharma-led side completed the task with seven wickets in hand to level the series at one apiece.