AB de Villiers played for wrong IPL franchise: Sanjay Manjrekar
What's the story
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has ignited a debate by saying South African legend AB de Villiers, may have picked the wrong team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Despite a successful career with Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB), Manjrekar feels de Villiers's true potential wasn't realized at this franchise.
He argues playing for another team could have further showcased his T20 prowess.
With over 4,500 runs, ABD is still the second-highest run-scorer for RCB in T20 cricket.
Career review
Over 5,000 IPL runs at strike-rate of 152
De Villiers started his IPL career in 2008 with Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils), where he spent three seasons.
He was picked by RCB in the 2011 auction and stayed with them for 11 seasons until his retirement in 2021.
De Villiers featured in 184 IPL matches and scored 5,162 runs at an remarkable average of 39.70 and a strike-rate of 151.68.
Despite this, Manjrekar insists de Villiers's true potential was never fully tapped into during his RCB stint.
Performance analysis
Take on de Villiers's IPL performance
Despite his phenomenal record, de Villiers never won an IPL title. He made it to the finals twice with RCB in 2011 and 2016. However, the Royal Challengers finished as runners-up.
Manjrekar said on a Star Sports show: "AB, in IPL, he was not used properly. His real ability. So, in IPL we didn't get that much juice out of him."
He added had de Villiers played for another franchise, fans may have seen more of his greatness.
Record comparison
Second-most IPL runs for RCB
De Villiers has the second-most runs for RCB in IPL history. In 156 matches, he scored 4,491 runs, including two tons and 37 fifties for them.
When asked if Suryakumar Yadav has dethroned de Villiers as "Mr. 360," Manjrekar replied: "I'll say yes, because of the match-winning impact."
He stressed that while de Villiers was a phenomenal player in Tests and ODIs, his full potential wasn't realized in the T20 format during his time with RCB.