‘Raina 4 IPL titles, unfortunately De Villiers…’: Gautam Gambhir’s shocking remark against SA legend upsets RCB fans

Former South Africa skipper De Villiers played for Delhi Capitals (DC) and RCB in his 13-year-long IPL career. Former Indian opener Gambhir expressed his reservations about admitting De Villiers as one of the best batters in the Indian Premier League. According to the former two-time IPL winner, De Villiers only managed to smash personal records in the world’s richest T20 league during his stint at RCB.

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“If AB de Villiers plays in a small ground like Chinnaswamy Stadium for 8-10 years, any player might have the same strike rate or ability. So Suresh Raina 4 IPL titles, unfortunately, de Villiers only personal records,” Gambhir told Star Sports. Gambhir’s noteworthy remarks have created quite a stir on social media. The former Indian batter and full-time cricket pundit was slammed by RCB fans for his objectionable remarks against the former South Africa skipper.

“Gautam Gambhir averages 30.2 with a SR of 126.4 in 11 innings at the Chinnaswamy. Just 2 fifties and a highest score of 64. Even if the stadium boundaries are smaller. It’s clearly not the easiest pitch ever to bat on. He definitely doesn’t have the best of records there,” one fan tweeted.”I admired Gambhir as a player. Respect for his performances on field. But this version of him taking dig and at times falling flat on face is not good,” another fan added.

Gambhir, who guided KKR to two IPL titles, scored 4218 runs in 154 IPL matches. De Villiers was roped in by RCB for the 2011 season of the cash-rich league. In 157 matches for the Bangalore-based franchise, the former South Africa batter smashed 4522 runs at a strike rate of 158.33. The former RCB star is also the second-highest run-getter for the Bangalore-based franchise in the history of IPL. Nicknamed Mr 360, De Villiers notched up two centuries and 37 half-centuries for RCB.

The South African averaged 41.10 for RCB in the IPL. De Villiers had called time on his incredible IPL career in 2021 at the age of 37. De Villiers last played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2021 season of the IPL. The former South Africa skipper had amassed 313 runs in 15 matches at the time.