Legendary South African player AB de Villiers shared his frustration regarding comparisons between him and openers in T20 cricket as well. AB de Villiers, who used to bat in the middle order, shared his dislike for when someone says an opener is better than him by saying the way he scored as well.

“I hate it when they compare my runs to other players in the IPL because then I go, ‘But I haven’t faced as many balls as the openers.’ It irritates the living daylights out of me,” de Villiers said, while speaking to former Zimbabwe cricketer and reputed commentator Pommie Mbangwa. “This guy scored 8,000 runs. He’s the best ever. No, I’m better than him. He’s just faced more balls. Don’t do it. And then on top of that, they’re all openers, and they bat with these restrictions. Only two guys out,” he further added.

However, AB de Villiers shared that batting from the beginning in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) opened his eyes about this as well.

“I did it in the WCL. They (openers) are playing a different game, like it’s ridiculous, man, especially in India. You can’t play cricket like that. But then don’t compare my stats,” de Villiers said. “All the top run scorers, the Orange Caps, you have to open the batting to win stuff. It irritates me,” he further said.

Notably, AB de Villiers scored 5,162 runs in 170 innings over the course of his IPL career at a strike-rate of 151.68 and an average of nearly 40 as well. However, he couldn’t win the IPL title either.