“He sent me a voice note, I got very emotional” – Virat Kohli on how AB de Villiers’ told him he was done playing for RCB

IPL and bromance go hand in hand. Be it the quintessential Dhoni-Raina bromance of CSK or Hardik- Pollard bromance of MI it’s always pleasant on the eyes to watch two superstars vibe together. Another prominent bromance is between the RCB boys, our very own Virat Kohli and Mr. 360 Ab de Villiers. The duo has bonded like real brothers since they became part of the franchise. With Virat stepping down from captaincy and De Villiers retiring from all forms of cricket, fans do miss their bonding on the ground. Recently, Virat Kohli relived the moment when he heard from De Villiers that he wouldn’t be playing anymore. Speaking on RCB’s ‘Bold Diaries’, Kohli said he was emotional when he heard the news.

“It’s very strange. I clearly remember when he decided to finally call it a day. He sent me a voice note. I still remember we were coming back after the World Cup from Dubai, and I got a voice note. And I opened it and I listened to it. Anushka (Sharma) was with me, and I looked at her like this, and my face fell. She was like ‘What?’ I showed her the message, I showed her the WhatsApp chat and the voice note from AB de Villiers. And the first thing she said was ‘Don’t tell me’. She knew,”

Kohli said

He added that De Villiers’ mannerisms during IPL 2021 made him feel like it was the last IPL he would see his best mate suit up for RCB.

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“I kind of had the impression or I kind of was guessing it in the last IPL. Because he kept telling me – our rooms were next to each other, and we would walk the same way and then disperse – and every time I walked to my room, he’d see me outside, he’d be like ‘I wanna see you for coffee one of these days. And I kept getting nervous; I was like ‘I’m not sitting with you, I think something is coming,’ and he said ‘No man, there’s nothing. I just wanna sit and have a chat with you, it’s been a while, and he never speaks like that, we interact all the time. So I knew something’s brewing up,”

Virat further said,

“I would be very emotional to think of him first” — Virat Kohli on AB de Villiers if RCB win the IPL this season

Kohli and De Villiers’ bond is something that makes for a fantastic IPL story. The duo’s partnerships on the field have ensured quite a few thrilling and enigmatic victories for the franchise.

“It’s a very strange feeling. I got very emotional, and the voice note was very emotional for me when he said, ‘Look, I don’t have it in me anymore. I’ve shared so many moments with him – highs and lows – he’s been right next to me through thick and thin,”

Kohli stated

“I was actually thinking about it the other day. If we manage to win the title in the coming seasons – this one, next one, whatever it is – I would be very emotional thinking about him first. Rather than what I would experience after such hard work of so many years, I would actually think of him, how much it’d still mean to him, watching from home. He’s a special human being, he’s touched everyone’s lives here. We can all vouch for that, he’s been amazing. I don’t think there’s one person here who can say ‘AB has not contributed to my life in some way or the other’,” he further added.

Kohli further stated

Watch the full interview here,