Cricket legend AB de Villiers recently opened up about his initial perception of Virat Kohli, revealing he found the young Indian star “arrogant and cocky” due to his immense confidence, a trait De Villiers now understands as vital for success.
IMAGE: AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli share a close bond from their RCB days. Photograph: BCCI
Key Points
- AB de Villiers initially perceived Virat Kohli as “arrogant and cocky” during their early days together at RCB.
- De Villiers clarified that this impression was due to Kohli’s high level of confidence as a young player, which he believes is crucial for achieving great success.
- Kohli’s attitude evolved and became more balanced as he matured and established himself in world cricket.
- The former South African captain shared these insights during a recent podcast with Prakhar Gupta.
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli share a close bond, forged over years of playing together at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). But it wasn’t quite friendship at first sight.
Initial Impressions of Young Kohli
During a podcast with Prakhar Gupta, De Villiers was asked about his first impression of Kohli and whether he really found him “arrogant and Cocky”.
“Yeah, and I think he’ll agree with that,” De Villiers replied.
Asked to explain why he felt that way, De Villiers said Kohli’s confidence was what initially came across as arrogance.
“Just a high level of confidence and he’s always played his cricket that way. It gets misinterpreted sometimes. In my case, that’s what happened as well. He came across as overly confident,” he said.
“I mean, that was my first impression. It’s always tongue-in-cheek when I say that, but I think he’ll agree with that. He was a very confident youngster at the age of 19, 20, 21. Early days. That’s also what’s necessary to achieve great success. You really need to believe in your own ability and you just learn to manage that over the years,” he added.
Kohli’s Evolution and Maturity
De Villiers went on to explain how Kohli’s attitude changed as he matured and established himself as one of the leading players in world cricket.
“That faded away as he grew older and as he became more balanced as a person and as a cricket player. I think he had a lot to prove when he was younger, and that faded away. And that also changed that sense of having to be overly confident with people, but that changed,” he said.