The cricket world of today is not without batsmen in the attack mode of play who have taken the game well forward. Look around and you would see Steve Smith and Virat Kohli at the very top and then a few others like David Warner and Brendon McCullum competing to be the best batsman of their time. There is, however, something about A.B. de Villiers who looks to be a batsman even beyond the modern age. It appears he is the most evolved of them in terms of innovation.
The only player who could rival ‘ABD’ is Viv Richards, according to Mickey Arthur. I would be hard to contest that claim when you see the South African ODI captain bat in the limited-overs mould, decimating the bowlers, dropping the ball beyond the boundary as if he were a robot installed with a batting programme designed with the solitary aim of clearing the fence. And the point about ‘ABD’ is he is a three-in-one, equally capable of delivering all formats of the game.
His innings in the severely truncated Bengaluru Test was a reminder of his triple capabilities. This was a Test match innings no doubt, but one into which he wove in the modern attack mode. The sight of spin seems to have put off this touring team’s sense of defence against the turning ball. They feel their defence has become so untrustworthy that all they do is make repeated bad judgement calls on the stroke to play. Is it his instinct for the right stroke or his innovative ability to convert the stroke and still carry it off that makes ABD stand out so much
In difficult circumstances for his team that seems beaten by the very sight of revolutions on the ball, de Villiers stands out as a performer of the highest class who reminds us that modern batsmanship is about adapting to the triple demands. Viv did not have to play the T20 although, in his pomp, he may have made the task look simple enough with his aggressive capabilities. Sachin never really got to take up the T20 challenge seriously though he did play a few innings to show he would not have been far behind had he had to play far more T20 internationals than he did.
It would have been clear from the very beginning that ‘ABD’ was an exceptional talent. They did some damage to his early career by shunting him up and down the order, a fate which, however, is always likely to hit young players. Importantly, he came through the ordeal, tightening his technique when he needed to and giving free rein to his imagination at other times even if it meant annoying coaches with his looseness. Today, he does not only defy the conventions of batting in most unique responses at the crease where his footwork and use of the breadth of the crease as well as twinkling feet to take him far out to the very pitch of the ball but also seems to have two to three strokes to play at any given delivery and regardless of its line and length.
It takes a kind of eclectic ability to switch modes even inside a format, leave alone switching among formats in today’s cricket calendar. ‘ABD; is probably the best at this in the modern game. There may be harder strikers of the ball around but none with that innovative ability of his with which he could run a batting masterclass in Tests to T20 at a pinch. People would go far to see the kind of entertainment ‘ABD’ represents. It would have warmed his heart to see the reception he got at the KSCA, although as an adopted Bengalurean he is probably used to it already. His 100th Test at his ‘home’ ground was precious though it could be said the umpires – field and third - should have been kinder to him on that silly decision to adjudge him ‘caught’.
He missed not only the century but also the great sentimental moments that would have followed it. That he accepted the decision and walked away like a true sportsman acknowledging the crowd support all the way back makes him a greater player and man. He is a sensitive soul known to cry his heart out at losing, as he did at the shattering World Cup semi-final experience in Auckland. Modern cricket needs more champions like him – not only the best batsman of his time but also the most well adjusted to the rough and tumble of hard professional sport.
