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Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers recently named his top three batters of all time across formats amid the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL 2025). His list also featured an Indian batter, Virat Kohli.
Apart from the ace Indian batter, the other two who were part of de Villiers' top three were Australian batting legend Ricky Ponting and South African great Jacques Kallis.
Notably, the 41-year-old initially named Brian Lara, the most prolific run-scorer in international cricket for West Indies. However, he ultimately went ahead with Kohli, Ponting and Kallis as his choices.
In a video shared by Star Sports on X, de Villiers said:
"That's such a difficult question. Of all time, all formats, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, no, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli."It is worth mentioning that Kohli is currently the third-highest run-getter in international cricket. He has amassed 27,599 runs (617 innings) across formats. He has announced his retirement from T20Is and Tests, but will continue playing for the Men in Blue in ODIs. With 51 hundreds, he is the leading century-maker in the 50-over format.
Ponting is just one spot below Kohli in the list of leading run-scorers across formats. He has 27,483 runs to his name from 668 innings. Kallis, on the other hand, chalked up 25,534 in 617 innings.
No place for an Indian player in AB de Villiers' top three bowlers of all-time
In the same video, AB de Villiers was also asked to name his top three bowlers of all time. The swashbuckling batter named former Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif as his first pick.
Known to be one of the greatest exponents of swing bowling, Asif bagged 165 wickets across 72 matches in international cricket. His top three also included his former South Africa teammate Dale Steyn.
The speedster is the second-highest wicket-taker for the Proteas, taking 697 wickets in 263 games. De Villiers' top three ended with Australia's legendary pace bowler Glenn McGrath.
No other Australian fast bowler has more wickets than McGrath in international cricket. He finished his illustrious career with a total of 948 wickets from 375 games.
Meanwhile, AB de Villiers is the captain of South Africa Champions in the ongoing WCL 2025. He turned the clock back with a stunning unbeaten knock of 116 off just 51 balls against England Champions.
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Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai
English (US)