South Africa captain AB de Villiers's batting blitzkriegs in the last two months have been so good that even his own team mates are in awe of them, fast bowler Dale Steyn said on Friday.
"He's so inventive ... he can play a touch game or a power game. Then, he can also keep wickets. I think he's the most valuable cricketer around," reckons former Australian great Adam Gilchrist.
AB de Villiers insisted that he wants to stay on as captain and take the Proteas to the World Cup triumph in 2019.
South Africa batsman AB de Villiers kept the ball-tampering controversy simmering after the fourth day of the third Test against England on Wednesday.
Shifting his focus to the basics and a 'special chat' with his Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers helped India skipper Virat Kohli bounce back to his best in the second T20 International against England, in Ahmedabad, on Sunday.
South Africa will study video analysis to prepare their batsmen to face Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, captain AB De Villiers said on Thursday, a day before the teams meet in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 45 runs in their opening match of the Indian Premier League.
For the first time in a decade, South Africa have been forced to acknowledge they are on the decline following back-to-back series losses to India and England that have knocked them off the top of the Test rankings.
Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday suffered a major setback as wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament due to hand injury, which requires surgery.
The dominant home side, playing in a changed pink kit in aid of breast cancer awareness, eased to victory with a full 18 overs to spare as De Villiers led the way with 60 from 61 balls.
AB de Villiers will avoid putting extra stress on a hamstring injury by playing as a batsman only in the first Sri Lanka Test with Quinton de Kock taking over wicketkeeping duties, South Africa captain Hashim Amla said on Tuesday.
A look at South Africa's tormented past when they failed to get over the line at key junctures in World Cups.
Harpreet got the wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and A B de Villiers to jolt RCB's run-chase.
'I don't care where I play my 100th Test. I didn't mind where I played my 50th; I don't mind where I play any of my Test matches. Representing my country is a great honour'
'You're rubbing shoulders with AB (de Villiers) and Virat (Kohli) for two months, talking to them while watching other games. It's just the greatest learning experience that any player could ask for.'
Courtesy of AB de Villiers's late blitz, RCB smashed as many as 64 runs from the last three overs to finish on a huge 202 for three in their 20 overs.
South Africa will play four Tests and five One-Day Internationals on their upcoming tour of India from September 29 to December 7. The 72 days' tour -- their longest ever to the sub-continent -- also comprises three Twenty20 matches.
South Africa's ODI and T20 skipper AB de Villiers has said the Proteas are relishing the opportunity of defending their World No.1 Test crown for the first time on Australian soil.
South Africa beat Pakistan by 45 runs in the first ODI at the Gaddafi stadium on Thursday.
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'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
Kolkata Knight Riders speedster Morne Morkel says one has to think on his feet to contain someone like AB de Villiers, considered the most dangerous batsman in contemporary cricket.
Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur pushed South Africa to the backfoot before the classy AB de Villiers rallied the tourists with a typically aggressive century on the second and last day of the practice game against Board President's XI which ended in a draw, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Jacques Kallis hit his second Test double century and AB de Villiers added a thrilling hundred before South Africa declared on 580 for four on the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Wednesday.
De Villiers smashed 107 and Morkel made a career-best 97 to lead the visitors to a 28-run victory over Zimbabwe in the 3rd ODI.
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn was left distressed after being heavily criticised by his own fans for opting against chasing victory in the drawn first test against India, the team's vice-captain AB de Villiers said.
Virat Kohli was a relieved man after a nail-biting 10-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, in Kolkata on Friday, kept Royal Challengers Bangalore's hopes alive in the Indian Premier League.
World's number one T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav will skip a few more IPL matches as he continues to recover from a sports hernia surgery with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) keeping a watch on his progress.
Captain Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers shared a record unbroken double-century stand as South Africa took control of the first Test against West Indies on the opening day at Centurion on Wednesday.
'I am very happy to spend a bit of time at home after travelling for 18 years.'
India's young batting stars Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan, who played alongside AB in this year's Indian Premier League, said it was like a dream come true for them to share the same dressing room with the South African, who is on the threshold of the unique landmark of 100 Test matches.
Indian cricket's rising star Sanju Samson's coach Biju George feels that his ward possesses the grit of Rahul Dravid as well as the flair of AB de Villiers which will make him a special player for India in the coming days.
India's Virat Kohli was overthrown by AB de Villiers from the top spot of the latest ODI rankings for batsmen following India's 0-2 series loss in South Africa.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Tuesday said fitness freak Virat Kohli has turned his teammates into "out and out athletes" and called him the man responsible for an incredible turnaround in Indian cricket.
Captain AB de Villiers smashed an unbeaten 101 in his 200th One-Day International to lead South Africa to a five-wicket victory over England and a 3-2 series win at Newlands on Sunday.
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers said he made a few captaincy errors that may have helped Pakistan snatch a thrilling win from the jaws of defeat in the opening Group 2 Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo on Friday.
Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis conceded that the Indian Premier League has helped South Africa's master blaster AB de Villiers and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, saying they have matured by playing in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.
South Africa's bowlers backed up a solid batting performance led by captain AB de Villiers' 99 to ensure they qualified for the knockout phase of the World Cup with a 146-run victory over United Arab Emirates.
There is not much the bowlers or a captain can do when batsmen of the calibre of AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle are on song.
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