AB de Villiers, on the eve of his 100th Test, says he will do anything to win a game for South Africa.
De Villiers fronted the media on Thursday ahead of the second Test in Bengaluru and said he expected the conditions to be similar to the first Test, irrespective of where they play.
‘We are expecting turning wickets,’ he said. ‘Dean [Elgar] and Stiaan [van Zyl] were two of the batsmen who looked more comfortable on the wicket in tMohali. They are two of the in-form batsmen in our batting line-up, which is promising and I am expecting them to do well in the second Test.’
De Villiers downplayed the big occasion surrounding his milestone and even went as far as to say he was not a nice guy when playing the game.
‘I’m not a nice guy on the field. I want to win games so I’ll do whatever it takes for us to win games,’ he said.
‘If I have to sledge I’ll get involved like that, I’ll try to intimidate a player if I have to. I’ll try to get Virat [Kohli] off his game by talking about his technique and little flaws [in his game]. I don’t mind doing things like that, whatever it takes to win games of cricket. I’m not a nice guy on the field and I’ve never really respected a guy who’s been a nice guy on the field.
‘I want the opposition to be hard and to play to win the game for their team. Off the field I try and be a good human being. I know my role in the side and that is to win games for my team. A lot of times I don’t have to be a nice guy to do that,’ De Villiers said.
‘The ultimate goal is to dominate world cricket and leave the jersey in a better place for the next generation of players who come after you.’
Reflecting on a career that has spanned 11 years and counting, De Villiers highlighted the Proteas’ record away from home over the last nine years.
‘I am very humbled to still be here 11 years later. I’ve never been a guy to harp too much on stats and records and milestones. I’ve been around for a while and I feel very blessed.
‘However, I don’t want to focus too much on that. It’s a matter of focusing on the next Test and getting back in the series. I feel more pressure being 1-0 down in the series than playing in my 100th Test. Hopefully we can make it 1-1.’
Picture: BCCI
