‘Daredevils Were in Shambles’: AB de Villiers Reveals ‘Poisonous’ Player Culture in Early IPL Days

‘Daredevils Were in Shambles’: Delhi Capitals alongside Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) are only two of the original IPL franchises without a title in the 18 years of the tournament and despite all of the depth of talent the team had during the early years, the Capitals are usually considered one of the great what-if stories from the IPL when it comes to what might have been had they not let AB de Villiers go after three years, and we stayed with established players like de Villiers before turning into a legend with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The South African great noted however that, while the Daredevils were able to attract star names, not all was good when the tournament started as a young player breaking into the international scene and even had revealed he was part of a toxic culture at the Daredevils, which is revealed because the Daredevils made the playoffs in each of their first two years and were one game away from going two years in a row into the playoff stage.

"I'd hate to give you names — burning people, you know — but the Delhi Daredevils were in shambles. There were a lot of poisonous characters in that team," said de Villiers in an interview with cricket.com.

Also Read: Was Asim Munir Invited to the US Military Parade? White House Clears the Air Amid Backlash

De Villiers reflected on being in the dressing room alongside some legends of the game as a young up-and-comer in the international game. "There were lots of legends, which makes it a bittersweet memory for me. I still remember those times fondly. Some of the highlights of my life and career came during that stint-especially spending time with guys like Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori. These were my heroes growing up, and I was honestly a bit scared of them.”

Apart from these illustrious veterans, the Daredevils also had stars like Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, and a young David Warner, but ultimately could not put together wins in knockout games.

‘I thought I was going to be the man…’

De Villiers went on to say that this was all in the background, and then the tough times started with chaos backstage. After scoring 465 runs for DD in 2009 on home soil, AB was in and out of the team for the 2010 season, not getting rid of his hit and miss tag. He eventually got released ahead of the 2011 auction where he went onto to join RCB, and the rest is history.

Also Read: British F‑35 Fighter Jets Make Emergency Landing at Trivandrum Due to Low Fuel

"2009 was nice. I played almost the entire season in South Africa, came back, and I thought I was going to be the man. Then, all of a sudden, I wasn't playing again. It was mixed feelings. I was told I would be retained, and then the next minute, I saw myself in the auction. I didn't even know what had happened. So many weird things went on."

Yes, apart from that the Daredevils had it rough from de Villiers leaving the team in 2011 and being rebranded leading to habits of winning as the Capitals in 2019 and beyond, the South African became arguably the greatest IPL batters in the tournaments history, to-date scoring 5162 runs in total, and earning some iconic performances for the Bengaluru franchise.

"The day I walked into RCB, I felt like they wanted me to play every game. I was so surprised. They just went, 'You're the man. You're going to grow here. You're going to become a great player with us-you're part of the family.' Done and dusted,” said de Villiers, who was in the crowd to watch RCB lift their very first title, presenting to support his long time team mate and close friend Virat Kohli?

Also Read: Israel Strikes Nuclear Facility in Iran: Live Updates on Israel–Iran War Escalation