In an interview with Chris Gayle ahead of the start of the IPL 2023 season, AB de Villiers acknowledged that he initially found Virat Kohli to be “arrogant and cocky” while he further added that after getting to know Virat “the human being” from close quarters, his opinions changed.
Virat Kohli, who was misunderstood, at least at the beginning of his career, managed to have his career take a direction that few people could have ever imagined. The batter became one of the best in the history of the sport.
However, many people viewed Kohli as being “arrogant” in his early years as a cricketer, whether it was in international cricket or the Indian Premier League.
In an interview with Chris Gayle ahead of the start of the IPL 2023 season, AB de Villiers acknowledged that even he initially found Virat Kohli to be “arrogant and cocky.”
De Villiers was brutally honest about his initial thoughts on Kohli in a Bold Diaries episode. However, the former captain of South Africa said that after getting to know Virat “the human being” from close quarters, his opinions changed.
“Oh my goodness…I have had this question before and I had given this answer before as well. I think he was quite cocky and arrogant when I met him the first time. With that hairstyle and he had a bit of a strut going…yes flamboyant, absolutely.
“But the minute I got to know him a bit better and watched him play I mean I’ve got as much respect for him but I got to know him better as a human being. I think he had a barrier around him when I met him the first time and that barrier opened up and I got to know the person. I didn’t like him but you know what I’m saying. He’s a top person now but the first impression was off…he’s got to come down to earth a bit,”
De Villiers said in the video, during a chat with Gayle.
De Villiers became a legend for the RCB and one of the finest players to have ever graced the Indian Premier League. Gayle, who for a long time wore the RCB shirt, had an open conversation with De Villiers in which the two addressed some fascinating topics and related untold stories from the past.