The former South African star, AB de Villiers, spoke of his difficult experience with the Drearevils of Delhi (now renamed Delhi Capitals) during the first years of the Indian Premier (IPL). De Villiers also said that there were “a lot of poisonous characters” within the team at the time.
AB de Villiers began his IPL career with the Delhi -based franchise, which signed it for $ 300,000 during the inaugural auction. The South African Guiche-Gardien played 28 games for Delhi in the tournament before joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he had a memorable passage.
There were a lot of poisonous characters on this side – AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers recently recalled that it had shared the locker room with legends like Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori. He also revealed that the team’s environment was deeply disturbed. De Villiers said that the team had several “poisonous characters”, without naming individuals.
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“I would hate giving you names. Burning People, you know. But Delhi’s breaks were in ruins. I mean, that was. There were a lot of poisonous characters on this side,” Villiers in Cricket.com told Villiers.
“Many legends. So it’s a soft moment for me because I speak … I remember affectionately. And some of the strengths of my life and my career were there, spending time with Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori,” he added.
During the first years of IPL, the Delhi team built a team with players such as Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambir, Dinesh Karthik and Glenn McGrath.
I was so afraid that they grow up – Ab de Villiers
The former PROTAS skipper remembers being intimidated by players like Glenn McGrath. Ab de Villiers said that he had been seated next to McGrath two years later, at the IPL in 2008.
“This is where we got closer. But these guys were my heroes and I was so afraid that they grew up,” he added. “Like McGrath. I mean, I played against him in 2006 in a test match and I could barely breathe, literally, and I never told him a word. And then in the next minute, I sit here in 2008 and he is sitting next to me and I go, I like the way you play. I’m like, what’s going on?”
It was a very soft -man of three years for me – ab de villiers
De Villiers said he darled moments with legendary teammates. The veteran drummer admitted that he did not feel fully supported by the franchise during his three-year passage, which made the overall bit-bitter-bit experience.
“So, from these tops to also realize that there were cancer characters inside and no need to mention the names, so it was a very soft-man of three years for me. In addition, I was not supported as I would have liked,” he said.
The 41 -year -old man scored only 95 points in six games during the inaugural season. Delhi reached the semi-finals before losing against possible Rajasthan Royals champions. He improved his performance in the 2009 season in South Africa, where he scored 465 points to an impressive average of 51.67.
However, Delhi lost again in the semi-finals, this time at the Deccan loaders. The following season was disappointing, because the team failed to qualify for the direct elimination stadium.
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