MR. 360 revolutionised how cricket, especially in the limited-overs is seen and approached today. AB de Villiers might not be the greatest South African cricketer of all time, but he certainly is the most influential. From being an all-format captain of his national side to breaking several records in multiple formats.
And while de Villiers has a massive legacy in international cricket, he might have an even bigger one in franchise T20 cricket. He played for some of the best teams in some of the biggest leagues in the world, dominating all over the world.
AB de Villiers Stats
AB de Villiers Stats: Batting
| Format | Matches | Ins. | Runs | B.F. | H.S. | Avg. | S/R | N.O. | 4s | 6s | 50s | 100s | 200s |
| Tests | 114 | 191 | 8765 | 16077 | 278* | 50.66 | 54.51 | 18 | 1024 | 64 | 46 | 22 | 02 |
| ODIs | 228 | 218 | 9577 | 9473 | 176 | 53.50 | 101.09 | 39 | 840 | 204 | 53 | 25 | 00 |
| T20Is | 78 | 75 | 1672 | 1237 | 79* | 26.12 | 135.16 | 11 | 140 | 60 | 10 | 00 | 00 |
| IPL | 184 | 170 | 5162 | 3403 | 133* | 39.70 | 151.68 | 40 | 413 | 251 | 40 | 03 | 00 |
AB de Villiers Stats: Bowling
| Format | Matches | Ins. | Balls | Wics. | Runs | B.Fig | Avg. | Econ. | S/R | 4w | 5w | 10w |
| Tests | 114 | 05 | 204 | 02 | 104 | 2/49 | 52.00 | 3.05 | 102.0 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| ODIs | 228 | 09 | 192 | 07 | 202 | 2/15 | 28.85 | 6.31 | 27.4 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| T20Is | 78 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | – | – | – | – | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| IPL | 184 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | – | – | – | – | 00 | 00 | 00 |
AB de Villiers Stats: Fielding
| Format | Matches | Catches | Stumpings |
| Tests | 114 | 222 | 08 |
| ODIs | 228 | 176 | 05 |
| T20Is | 78 | 65 | 05 |
| IPL | 184 | 118 | 07 |
AB de Villiers Career Overview
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers was born on February 17, 1984, making him 41 years old today. As his father was a rugby player in college, he encouraged his son to pursue sports, and AB took up cricket, even representing the South African U-19 team in the early 2000s.
He impressed in his early years with the senior team, making his debut at the age of 20 in November 2004 against England. Soon, he would become the second-fastest South African to score 1000 international runs after Graeme Pollock. And while he was a solid batter even in the early stages of his career, he made his name as an excellent fielder.
After playing his first World Cup in 2007, de Villiers started gaining international fame when he scored a double century against India in a 2008 Test. By 2011, not only had the South African become a household name for cricket fans around the world, but also arguably the best batter in the Proteas squad. This was proven by him being his nation’s highest run scorer, making 353 runs in five matches at an average of over 88 and including two centuries.
After the World Cup, he succeeded Graeme Smith as the limited-overs captain of South Africa. By this time, he had also become the No. 1 wicketkeeper for the national side, and in a 2013 Test match, he would equal Jack Russell’s record of most dismissals by a keeper in a match.
By 2015, AB de Villiers had become “Mr. 360”, having shown his uncanny ability to slog all over the park. In 2015, he scored the fastest. On August 18, 2015, in an ODI against the West Indies, he would break the records of the fastest 50 and 100 in the format in the same match, reaching those milestones in 16 and 31 balls, respectively.
In 2017, AB would become the all-format captain of South Africa. But by this time, his career was coming to an end. A little more than a year later, he announced his retirement from international cricket.
The South African might have an even bigger legacy in franchise cricket. The first Hall of Famer for IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he has been involved in some of that team’s biggest wins and their most memorable moments.
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