Watch: AB De Villiers Praises Royal Challengers Bangalore In Emotional Retirement Message
Former South African Cricketer AB de Villiers gave an extremely emotional speech, after announcing his retirement from "all cricket", where he thanked all his fans, the critics, and also gave a special mention to his IPL franchise RCB for playing a big part in his career.
Former South African captain AB de Villiers took to Instagram where he gave an emotional message for his fans through his former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal challengers Bangalore (RCB). In course of the video, the RCB cricketer thanked all his fans and even the critics for changing his life. He said, "Today I am going to be making a very big announcement, a very announcement that I am finished with all formats and all cricket all around. I do have a smile on my face. I feel like I am making the right decision and obviously deep in my heart I am incredibly sad. There are lots of emotions and thoughts going through my mind of all the years of playing cricket. There is a lot of mixed emotions."
De Villiers stated that he wanted to spend more time with his family and that is the reason behind his decision to retire.
"Things happened very quickly in the last month or so. It's been in my mind for quite a bit and I finally just made the decision to really, truthfully priorities family time and to be just the best version of myself as much as I can here at home. To all the people in Bangalore and all the people around the world who followed me and supported me with my RCB team and in the other teams that I represented, Thank you very much for that," the batsman par excellence added.
The South African thanked his fans and critics alike for their constant support and scrutiny throughout his career.
"It's difficult to put into words what the fans around the world and supporters of cricket and of my cricket specifically have meant to me, it's been life-changing. And to each and every one of you who have criticized me or just loved everything that I have done throughout my career, thank you very much," the 37-year-old batter said.
"I know I am not going to go anywhere and I'm going to be an RCBian for life. Every single person in the RCB set-up has become family to me. People come and go, but the spirit and the love we have for each other at RCB will always remain. I know we haven't won a trophy there but I truly believe that there are plenty more to come in the future. RCB has changed my life and I've become half Indian now and I'm proud of that," de Villers said while praising the IPL franchise with whom he spent 11 seasons.
South Africa Cricket Team
Royal Challengers Bangalore
AB de Villiers