AB De Villiers’ highest test score of 278 not out for the Proteas against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2010 was the South African record at the time. The record was later surpassed when Hashim Amla recorded 311 not out against England at The Oval in 2012. The wicket-keeper is South Africa’s third highest run-scorer in tests behind legendary batsmen Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.
De Villiers is not only an excellent cricketer, but a talented sportsman with abilities in various disciplines. He has been lauded for his ability when taking part in golf, badminton, swimming, hockey, rugby and tennis. He was shortlisted as a youngster for the South African junior national hockey team, and was also selected for the Blue Bulls Under-18 team before dedicating his time to cricket.
He is a recipient of the prestigious national medal from the former South African president Nelson Mandela for a science project when he was younger, proving that he is not simply a talented sportsman, but an academically gifted individual too. He attended the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, which is also known as Affies, located in Pretoria.
Fans of cricket simply know the talented cricket star as AB, but not many people know that the AB stands for Abraham Benjamin. His father was also named AB, and his son, who was born in 2015, has been given the same name. His nicknames include ABD, Mr. 360 and Superman, due to his incredible ability with the bat.
De Villiers is widely considered the best batsman in the world at the moment, and certainly one of the best of all time. He currently holds records for the fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls) and 150 (64 balls) in One Day Internationals by any batsmen in history, as well as the fastest century by a South African in Tests and the fastest 50 by a South African in T20s.
The 31-year-old South African played a world record 78 innings in test cricket before making his first duck, against Bangladesh in Centurion in 2008. A duck is when a batsman is out before he is able to score any runs, and it is an amazing achievement to have always scored runs in 78 innings before his first duck, hence the world record.
De Villiers was appointed captain of both the South African ODI and T20 squads, as well as the vice-captain of the test squad at the beginning of the 2011-12 season. He has been an exceptional skipper, leading by example with the bat, and using his experience to show the younger players the way forward. He led South Africa to the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
De Villiers is a very popular South African celebrity, and as a result he enjoys a strong following of fans on his social media accounts. The Protea player’s Facebook page is amongst the most popular amongst South African sports fans, showing over 261,000 Likes, while on Twitter De Villiers has almost 3 million followers.
The South African cricket star is a fan of English Premier League club Manchester United, expressing his interest in all sports by expressing his support for the successful reds who are currently coached by Louis Van Gaal.
