AB DeVilliers, former South African captain and one of the most popular players ever to play T20 cricket, will be debuting in Big Bash League (BBL) with Brisbane Heat for the upcoming edition of the T20 league. Ab de Villiers will be playing in the second half of BBL Season 9, replacing Brendon McCullum, former New Zealand star who retired from T20 leagues this year.
Since he announced his retirement from international cricket last year, there were speculations that AB was looking to join a BBL club. Talking to brisbaneheat.com.au, AB stated that the decision to join this club was a straightforward one as the Heat have always ‘stood out for him’.
“Brisbane is a lovely city – I’ve been there a few times before traveling with the South African team. I love the place, I love the weather. It’s similar to Pretoria where I’m from. “They play the kind of cricket that I want to be associated with. It’s quite aggressive. They go after the attack. And the Gabba, it’s a beautiful cricket field. It’s a great wicket and games are always of high quality,” he added.
The former South African star, who also features for Royal Challengers Bangalore in Indian Premier League, has represented South Africa in 114 Tests, 228 One Day Internationals and 78 T20 Internationals. On the international stage, he has a total of 20,014 runs across all formats.
Even though he has retired from all forms of international cricket, De Villiers seemed to be in a great touch while playing for RCB in this year’s IPL. He scored 442 runs at a strike rate of 154 with 5 fifties. He also had an impressive outing for Middlesex in the recent t20 competition where he crossed the score of 50 for four times out of the 8 times he got a chance to bat. Just after IPL 2019 season, there were speculations that Ab De Villiers was in contact with a few of the BBL clubs, however, later he had pulled out of BBL citing personal reasons.
Speaking on the development, Brisbane Heat’s head coach Darren Lehmann showered praises on the former protea player and said that he was ‘looking forward to working with de Villiers for the first time’. “World-class players don’t just come along every day and to have a player of AB’s stature and skill in the BBL is a fantastic outcome for everyone, not just the Heat,” he said.
“He’s a 360-degree player, great skills, outstanding temperament, and an insightful leader. We’re excited to bring him into the group this summer and allow him to showcase his skills for the fans.”
The former South Africa captain would be potentially playing six games as well as being available for the finals should the Heat qualify in the upcoming BBL edition. If you are interested in finding the odds of Brisbane Heat qualifying for finals, you should check out latest cricketing odds and online betting at 10cric.com
