India’s Virat Kohli (AP Photo)
Asked what had changed in Kohli’s ODI game, de Villiers said, “I have been following his progress with a lot of interest and it makes me very happy to see the way he’s performing, especially keeping in mind that the 2027 World Cup is just around the corner. We’ve seen this kind of form in 2012 to 2014 and then again 2016 to 2019 and now this is a third peak for him really taking his game to the next level. ‘Mr 360 degree’ is equally excited about the ODI World Cup returning to South Africa for the first time since 2003. He hopes the Proteas can go further this time after failing to reach the semifinals in 2003 and believes their recent ODI series win over world champions Australia is an encouraging sign. “I think that the cricket is going to be magnificent, as it was in 2003 and hopefully the Proteas will perform better this time than back then.
” “It’s an incredible run of form. So, really looking good for the guys and once the World Cup starts, there will be a lot of hype, a lot of attention from the media and the public,” de Villiers said. And what stands out to me is the aggressive nature of his approach these days. It’s fantastic to see him using all his experience and realizing to be positive and getting into good positions actually brings out the best in him. And we’ve often heard him speak about sort of taking his game to the next level, thinking about the game a little bit differently. From a performance point of view, it doesn’t bring back great memories. But the team really looks strong now. Most of the players are still relatively unknown globally, but I know they have a lot of chemistry. There’s a great (team) culture. There’s lots of individuals who can win your games of cricket. And we showcased it now against Australia, winning a sixth consecutive ODI series win against the Aussies.