For 'skilled' Virat Kohli, cricket bat is a 'surgeon's knife': AB de Villiers

Johannesburg, Sept 4: South Africa captain AB de Villiers hailed India's 'run machine' Virat Kohli as 'one of the greatest' in his autobiography.

AB De Villiers rues WC semi-final loss

The South Africa batting legend feels that cricket bat 'is surgeon's knife' for Indian Test skipper.

"For Virat, the bat was a surgeon's knife, and he so often proved himself uniquely skilled at placing the ball in the gaps," de Villiers wrote in his autobiography.

AB de Villiers, who is one of the most celebrated batsman of the present generation, revealed his life's journey in his upcoming autobiography 'AB: The Autobiography'.

Hailing his relationship with Kohli, who is leading former's IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore, said it was indeed "a privilege" playing with the India dasher.

('Great country' India is so important in my career)

In a chapter titled 'Inspired by India', de Villiers writes that "this great country has provided me with so many opportunities and has become so important in my career."

Commenting on his participation in the Indian Premier League, de Villiers writes about how the tournament has suddenly changed the game forever as players who were used to being rivals on the international stage became friends and teammates.

But he was "embarrassed" about the price Vijay Mallya paid for him to play in the Royal Bangalore Challengers franchise in January 2011.

(Kohli praises De Villiers)

"A few well-timed performances...may have increased my value, but whatever the reason, I was surprised and, frankly, a little embarrassed when the list of annual player salaries was published after the auction and USD 1.1 million appeared beside my name," de Villiers wrote.

'AB - The Autobiography' rose to Number 35 on the Amazon India charts last week based on pre-publication orders ahead of its launch in the country in the coming week.

OneIndia News