‘Retirement lelo’ – Fans react as Ab de Villiers feels Virat Kohli would perform his best in series against South Africa

India will be touring South Africa in December 2023 and early January 2024. The series will feature all three formats. There will be three T20Is, three ODIs, and 2 Tests in the tour. Some of the best players in the world are set to take part in the tour in different formats. Tests and T20Is are set to get attention from the fans, as the T20 World Cup 2024 is months away from starting.

The Test series is a part of the World Test Championship cycle 2023-25. India started its campaign for the third cycle of Tests with a series win over the West Indies earlier this year. Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, India overcame West Indies in their backyard. The next challenge for India in the longest format of the game would be to beat South Africa in their backyard.

For that to happen, the Indian batters must give their best. It is almost taken that the Indian bowlers would perform well in the series, given that the conditions favour the pacers. The Indian pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Shami have a good record in South Africa. For India to have a chance in the series, batters must step up.

‘We’ll see the best of Virat Kohli in the South African Test series’ – AB De Villiers

Most importantly, the form of the key batters like Rohit and Virat Kohli would be crucial for India. These two have the experience of touring South Africa in the past. Virat has succeeded as a batter in three tours of South Africa in Tests. In 2013 and 2018, Virat was at his best. In the tours, Ab de Villiers also took part and played a vital role for his team in winning the series.

The former South African captain claimed that Virat would perform very well in the series. “We’ll see the best of Virat Kohli in the South African Test series,” said Ab De Villiers. The two former teammates met each other recently during the ODI World Cup 2023, where the two teams took on each other at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India will play South Africa from the 26th of December in the first Test.

Here’s how the fans reacted to the statement of Ab De Villiers –