AB De Villiers walking out to bat at number six became the talking point after Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their previous match to Kings XI Punjab. Though the decision was a tactical one, Not being able to see De Villiers at his familiar batting position irked his and RCB fans alike.

As it turned out, the ploy did not work as he was eventually dismissed for a low score. Ahead of RCB’s next match against Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah on Saturday, De Villiers wrote a column for Hindustan Times, explaining the thought process behind the move, saying that he is a team man and will do what the team asks him to do.

I am a Team Man – AB De Villiers

AB De Villiers started by saying that he is a team and will never question the idea of the coach and the captain if they make a particular decision. De Villiers has an enviable rapport with Virat Kohli and coach Mike Hesson at the RCB camp. He has proved time and again that he is a team player and puts the team before self in any given condition.

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“I am a team man. If the coach and captain agree on a strategy, I am not going to second guess them. I will always support them. That’s the way successful teams function” De Villiers wrote in his column for HT.

He further said that he was almost ready to bat after the second wicket fell to go out to bat but the coach and the captain asked him not to. They sent in the left-hander to counter the threat of a leg-spinner and KXIP had two in their line-up, Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi.

“When the second wicket fell, with our score 62 for two in the sixth over, I started to make my way through the gate that leads out to the wicket. At that precise moment, I was asked to wait because the coach and captain had decided to send out left-handers to face the two KXIP leg-spinners, who were bowling at the time” wrote De Villiers.

He further credited Punjab on their win saying that they are a far better team than what the points table suggests at the moment.

AB De Villiers concluded his column by saying that RCB have to put the loss behind and move forward in this IPL season. They are focusing on winning their next game against Rajasthan Royals.

“From an RCB perspective, we need to move on from what turned out to be a disappointing evening, continue to work hard, focus on executing our core skills correctly and try to regain that precious winning momentum against RR in Dubai on Saturday” concluded the former South African skipper.

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