South African legend AB de Villiers opened up on his frustration regarding comparisons between him and openers in T20 cricket as well. De Villiers, who batted in the middle order initially, shared his dislike for when someone says an opener is better than him by using the metric of runs scored as well.
The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter also added that openers have it easier batting in the powerplay as well. He also stated that he was less likely to compete for the Orange Caps (award for most runs scored in the IPL) as he faced fewer balls than openers as well.
“I hate it when they compare my runs to other players in the IPL because then I go, ‘But I haven’t faced as many balls as the openers.’ It irritates the living daylights out of me,” de Villiers said, while speaking to former Zimbabwe cricketer and reputed commentator Pommie Mbangwa.
“This guy scored 8,000 runs. He’s the best ever. No, I’m better than him. He’s just faced more balls. Don’t do it. And then on top of that, they’re all openers, and they bat with these restrictions. Only two guys out,” he further added.
IPL 2026 all set to begin on March 28
AB de Villiers shared that batting from the beginning in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) opened his eyes to the matter.
“I did it in the WCL. They (openers) are playing a different game, like it’s ridiculous, man, especially in India. You can’t play cricket like that. But then don’t compare my stats,” de Villiers said. “All the top run scorers, the Orange Caps, you have to open the batting to win stuff. It irritates me,” he further said.
However, AB de Villiers smashed 5,162 runs in 170 innings over the course of his IPL career at a great strike-rate of 151.68 and an average of nearly 40. However, he never managed to win the IPL title as well.
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