Former South African and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter AB de Villiers recently revealed his list of the five best cricketers he played with in Test cricket. Notably, de Villiers didn’t include his former IPL teammate Virat Kohli despite the strong bond between them both on and off the field.
AB de Villiers made his Test debut for the national cricket team in 2004. The right-handed batter played 114 Tests and scored 8,756 runs at an average above 50, with 22 centuries and 46 fifties. He last played a Test match in 2018 against Australia in Johannesburg, where he scored a half-century.
AB de Villiers Picks the 5 Best Cricketers He Played With in Tests
During an appearance on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, AB de Villiers revealed his top five Test cricketers he played alongside or against. He named Jacques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Mohammad Asif, Shane Warne, and Sachin Tendulkar.
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When England spinner Adil Rashid asked about Virat Kohli’s absence, de Villiers admitted such choices are difficult. He stated that Tendulkar had an unmatched aura and that stadiums would fall silent when he walked out to bat.
“Kallis, Flintoff, Mohammad Asif, Warne… and Sachin with the crowds. The way he (Tendulkar) was received when he walked out to bat — everything would come to a standstill. Beautiful to watch him bat. Virat… sorry, Sachin. That’s why such questions are so tough to answer,” de Villiers said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
Virat Kohli’s Test Career For Test India
Virat Kohli ended his Test career on May 12. The right-handed batter finished as India’s most successful captain in the format. Under his captaincy, the team played 68 Tests and secured 40 victories.
Kohli began his Test career in 2011 with a debut against the West Indies. He went on to become one of India’s most reliable batters, amassing 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, with a highest score of an unbeaten 254.
He last played a Test match in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 36-year-old scored a century in Perth but struggled to maintain consistency, finishing with just 190 runs across five matches.
Jacques Kallis Is The Best Cricketer of All-Time – AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers said that Jacques Kallis is the greatest cricketer of all time. He picked Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif as the toughest seamer he ever faced. De Villiers admitted that legendary spinner Shane Warne never troubled him much.
He also mentioned that Andrew Flintoff’s famous yorker to dismiss Kallis at Edgbaston was one of the best he had ever witnessed.
“Kallis is the best all-rounder or maybe the best cricketer of all time. Asif was the best seamer I ever faced. I loved playing against Warne, but I never faced difficulty. I liked his overall personality, the floppy hat, the zinc cream, the blonde hair,” he said.
“Again Andrew Flintoff, who was a big-match performer. That yorker to Kallis in Edgbaston is the best I have seen,” he added.
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