AB de Villiers is a very popular cricketer in India thanks to the Indian Premier League. When he walks out to bat for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the crowd invariably get behind him with chants of "ABD! ABD!" But in the ongoing series against India, AB de Villiers has shown he can have the same effect on the crowds when he is turning up in South African green against India's men in blue.
Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers in Wankhede after the fifth ODI. AFPSachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers in Wankhede after the fifth ODI. AFP
Former South African fast bowler, and one of the more popular South African players in the 1990s, Fanie de Villiers thinks AB de Villiers can go one step further. “Can I tell you something about AB de Villiers? AB is going to be more popular than Sachin Tendulkar in world cricket,” Fanie de Villiers told Times of India in an interview.
“That's the calibre of a person we are talking about; that's the cricketer we are talking about; that's the loveable, marketable player we are talking about. He is in the Sachin Tendulkar category. If you are in the Tendulkar category, when it comes to marketing the game of cricket, you are special.”
Sample this: This was Sachin Tendulkar walking out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Boxing Day Test in 2011. Not for the first time, Tendulkar was greeted with wild cheers from a capacity crowd on foreign soil. Granted, a good percentage of fans for India’s away matches are usually Indian expats and tourists and this was expected to be the last time Tendulkar played in Australia. But the adoration Tendulkar received from fans around the world was truly remarkable.
However, what AB de Villiers has shown on this tour of India just as remarkable. He is doing what very few international players have managed to in their careers – hold the complete attention of Indian fans while playing in India. Almost every post-match presentation ceremony after the matches in the ODI series began with Sanjay Manjrekar asking AB de Villiers how does it feel to hear his name chanted in every ground. “Unbelievable,” was ABD’s invariable answer.
At the Wankhede in Mumbai during the fifth ODI, there was a poster celebrating AB de Villiers' ability to play shots to all corners of the ground - Mr. 360, as he is called - and that, in the stands which is a sea of blue jerseys.
“Many years ago I saw Indian crowds greet Brian Lara with great joy,” Harsha Bhogle wrote on his Facebook wall after the recently concluded ODI series. “Then Shane Warne came to India and he was a huge hit too. But I am struggling to recall another cricketer who has received the kind of ovation that AB de Villiers has. I was hosting the telecast in Dharamshala at the start of the tour when he walked out to warm up and the noise was something else. In Mumbai, the crowds were chanting "ABD, ABD". I must imagine it is incredibly moving to be so recognised and loved in another land."
“It's a privilege to be in that class or category on and off the field. He is very much the same as Tendulkar. He hasn't got tattoos, he hasn't got earrings; he hasn't got that flashy image. He is not a fashion freak and all that shows what kind of a character he is,” Fanie de Villiers said in the TOI interview.
“The moment you start going for all those things, you develop a flaw in your personality. You are trying to show not what you are. AB hasn't got any of those things and Sachin had nothing of that either. Sampras had nothing of that, Federer had nothing of that. When you're a top sportsman like Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers, you don't need to do anything like that,” Fanie de Villiers added.
Like Firstpost’s Jigar Mehta wrote after the series, AB de Villiers is transcending cricketing boundaries. And it is hard to disagree with Fanie de Villiers’ assessment that he could be as popular, if not more popular than Tendulkar, when it comes to the adoration he is receiving around the world.
Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers in Wankhede after the fifth ODI. AFPSachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers in Wankhede after the fifth ODI. AFP
Former South African fast bowler, and one of the more popular South African players in the 1990s, Fanie de Villiers thinks AB de Villiers can go one step further. “Can I tell you something about AB de Villiers? AB is going to be more popular than Sachin Tendulkar in world cricket,” Fanie de Villiers told Times of India in an interview.
“That's the calibre of a person we are talking about; that's the cricketer we are talking about; that's the loveable, marketable player we are talking about. He is in the Sachin Tendulkar category. If you are in the Tendulkar category, when it comes to marketing the game of cricket, you are special.”
Sample this: This was Sachin Tendulkar walking out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Boxing Day Test in 2011. Not for the first time, Tendulkar was greeted with wild cheers from a capacity crowd on foreign soil. Granted, a good percentage of fans for India’s away matches are usually Indian expats and tourists and this was expected to be the last time Tendulkar played in Australia. But the adoration Tendulkar received from fans around the world was truly remarkable.
However, what AB de Villiers has shown on this tour of India just as remarkable. He is doing what very few international players have managed to in their careers – hold the complete attention of Indian fans while playing in India. Almost every post-match presentation ceremony after the matches in the ODI series began with Sanjay Manjrekar asking AB de Villiers how does it feel to hear his name chanted in every ground. “Unbelievable,” was ABD’s invariable answer.
At the Wankhede in Mumbai during the fifth ODI, there was a poster celebrating AB de Villiers' ability to play shots to all corners of the ground - Mr. 360, as he is called - and that, in the stands which is a sea of blue jerseys.
“Many years ago I saw Indian crowds greet Brian Lara with great joy,” Harsha Bhogle wrote on his Facebook wall after the recently concluded ODI series. “Then Shane Warne came to India and he was a huge hit too. But I am struggling to recall another cricketer who has received the kind of ovation that AB de Villiers has. I was hosting the telecast in Dharamshala at the start of the tour when he walked out to warm up and the noise was something else. In Mumbai, the crowds were chanting "ABD, ABD". I must imagine it is incredibly moving to be so recognised and loved in another land."
“It's a privilege to be in that class or category on and off the field. He is very much the same as Tendulkar. He hasn't got tattoos, he hasn't got earrings; he hasn't got that flashy image. He is not a fashion freak and all that shows what kind of a character he is,” Fanie de Villiers said in the TOI interview.
“The moment you start going for all those things, you develop a flaw in your personality. You are trying to show not what you are. AB hasn't got any of those things and Sachin had nothing of that either. Sampras had nothing of that, Federer had nothing of that. When you're a top sportsman like Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers, you don't need to do anything like that,” Fanie de Villiers added.
Like Firstpost’s Jigar Mehta wrote after the series, AB de Villiers is transcending cricketing boundaries. And it is hard to disagree with Fanie de Villiers’ assessment that he could be as popular, if not more popular than Tendulkar, when it comes to the adoration he is receiving around the world.
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