AB de Villiers on Virat Kohli: AB de Villiers revealed that in the initial days he found Virat Kohli very arrogant and prideful.
AB de Villiers considered Virat Kohli arrogant
AB de Villiers on Virat Kohli: In the world of cricket, the friendship between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, known as Mr. 360 Degree, is not hidden from anyone. Both the players have played many match-winning innings together for RCB and their friendship was much talked about even outside the field. However, do you know that during his first meeting with Virat Kohli, De Villiers had a different opinion about him? Former South African batsman made an interesting revelation while remembering the early days of Virat.
What did AB de Villiers think about Virat in the first meeting?
In fact, recently in a podcast, AB de Villiers revealed that in the initial days, he found Virat Kohli very arrogant and proud. During a podcast conversation with Prakhar Gupta, when de Villiers was asked about his first impression of Virat, he smilingly admitted that yes, and I think Virat would also agree with this. However, with time, after knowing Virat closely, his thinking changed.
Prakhar : “When you first met Virat Kohli, you thought he was cocky and arrogant. Is that true?”
AB de Villiers: “Yes. I think he’ll agree with that.”
“He came across as overly confident. He had a lot to prove when he was younger.”
“You need that kind of confidence and self-belief to achieve great success.”
— The Prakhar Gupta Xperience (@pgxpodcast) October 16, 2026
People used to misunderstand Virat’s confidence
Taking his point further, De Villiers made it clear that his statement was meant in a joking manner. He explained that at the age of 19, 20, 21, Virat was filled with immense self-confidence.
De Villiers told that people often misunderstood this confidence of Virat. According to De Villiers, it is very important to have such confidence in oneself to achieve success at the top level at that age.
Changes in temperament with age
During the podcast, AB de Villiers also told that as Virat grew older and matured as a player and a person, his nature changed a lot. In the initial days, he had a lot to prove, due to which his attitude seemed a little too aggressive and over-confident.