AB de Villiers

'Mr. 360', 'ABD', former captain of South African cricket team, AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the year three times during his 15-year long international career. Considered as one of the most destructive batsmen of the modern era, he is appreciated for his range of unbelievable shots. The maverick batsman recorded the fastest half-century, century, and 150 in the ODI format. He holds the record for most Test innings without registering a duck (78).

The Pretoria-born batsman made his Test debut at 20 in 2004 against England. Opening batting, he scored 28 and 14 in his team's loss. In the next match, he was dropped down the batting order and was also given wicketkeeping duties. He excelled in the roles, scoring a fifty and effecting five dismissals in the match. 

ABD was signed by the Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) in the inaugural season of IPL. He played for the franchise for three seasons and since then, has been representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise, where he enjoys tremendous respect and love from his teammates, owner as well as fans. Virat Kohli and AB have posted five 100+ partnerships and two 200+ partnerships for RCB. De Villiers has the capability and mentality to turn the fortunes of a match single-handedly. His explosive 105 against CSK in 2009 playing for Delhi is considered as one of the best knocks of his IPL career. 

De Villiers holds the record for hitting the second-highest number of sixes in the tournament (212) behind Chris Gayle who has 326 to his name. Scoring at a mammoth strike rate of 150+, he is considered a nightmare for bowlers and a true showman for the audience. The Titans cricketer is also the highest run-scorer for the Proteas in the history of World Cup cricket. In 23 matches across three World Cups, he has scored 1,207 runs at a majestic average of 63.52, including five tons.

After leading his team to several victories, in January 2017, he chose to rule himself out of most of the Test matches that South Africa would take part in the year. He resumed playing in early 2018 and participated in the Indian tour to South Africa. The Protea ace announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on 23 May 2018, while he was still on the top of his game. Post-retirement, the Pretorian has been an active franchise cricket wayfarer, representing Brisbane Heat, Rangpur Rider, and Lahore Qalanders in BBL, BPL and PSL, while being a vital cog for RCB in IPL.

The South African superstar who surprised the cricketing fraternity by announcing a sudden retirement from international cricket in 2018, was in talks with Cricket South Africa (CSA) to make a return in the Proteas side for 202- T20 World Cup But SA head coach Mark Boucher revealed the real reason behind him turning down the offer for an international comeback was the development of other players who have been a part of the system.

(As of June 2021)