Legendary South African cricketer AB de Villiers, currently leading the South Africa Champions in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL 2025), has revealed his top three batters of all time across all formats.
While speaking on the sidelines of the tournament to Star Sports, de Villiers was asked to name his all-time favourite batters. Though he momentarily considered West Indies great Brian Lara, he ultimately chose a different trio—leaving out Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who are among the top two run-scorers in cricket history.
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑶𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒔 — 𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝑲𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔, 𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝑷𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝑲𝒐𝒉𝒍𝒊,” 𝑨𝑩 𝒅𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Kohli, Ponting, and Kallis Make the Cut
Each of de Villiers’ picks has left an indelible mark on the game. Virat Kohli, with 27,599 international runs, ranks third in the all-time highest run-scorers list. He also holds the record for the most centuries in ODIs with 51. Though Kohli has stepped away from T20Is and Tests, he continues to represent India in the 50-over format.
Ricky Ponting, another legend in de Villiers’ trio, is just behind Kohli in career runs with 27,483 to his name. As a former Australian captain, Ponting was a pillar of the dominant Aussie side throughout the 2000s.
Jacques Kallis, widely regarded as one of cricket’s finest all-rounders, boasts 25,534 international runs along with over 500 wickets, making him a complete package across formats.
AB De Villiers Also Picks His Top Bowlers
In the same interview, AB de Villiers shared his top three bowlers of all time: Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif, South Africa’s Dale Steyn, and Australia’s Glenn McGrath. Asif, despite a curtailed international career, earned immense respect for his impeccable control and swing bowling.
“𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑫𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒄𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 — 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔,” 𝒅𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Dale Steyn, one of South Africa’s greatest pace bowlers, claimed 697 wickets in international cricket, while McGrath leads all Australian fast bowlers with 948 international wickets.
Heroics in WCL 2025 Continue
Back on the field, AB de Villiers is proving he still has the magic touch. In Match 8 of the WCL 2025 against England Champions, he delivered a blistering knock of 116* off just 51 balls. Chasing 152, his effort—alongside Hashim Amla’s steady 29*—led South Africa Champions to a third straight win, cementing their position at the top of the points table.
As the WCL progresses, fans will be keeping a close eye on de Villiers—both for his explosive batting and his insightful views on the game’s greats.
Also Read: ENG vs IND 2025: Manoj Tiwary Slams Gambhir’s Inconsistent Selection Policy