Former South African player AB de Villiers named the most intimidating Indian cricketer, according to him. He picked his former IPL teammate and former India opener Virender Sehwag. Before playing for RCB, he played with Sehwag for three seasons at the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). He said that Sehwag could take the game away from the opposition quickly as well.

“I think Sehwag. He was a very nice guy, but the way he batted was very intimidating. It felt like you were going to lose in the first five overs of the match, and you hadn’t even started it almost. He had that kind of aura and impact on the opposition that you felt deflated just 20 minutes going into the game. Such a great player, and I loved watching him bat. We also played together for the first three years in the IPL. It was fun to play with him and be in his team for a change,” he said on a podcast with Prakhar Gupta.

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However, AB de Villiers was also asked to choose between Shoaib Akhtar, Lasith Malinga, and Jasprit Bumrah for the toughest bowler he faced, and he thought Shoaib Akhtar was tough to face in terms of pace; he added that Bumrah was the most consistent bowler and that he had great battles with him.

“They were all at different times of my career. Shoaib came first. He was incredibly tough. Miles faster than Bumrah, not even close. From a pure pace point of view, it is definitely Shoaib. Malinga had a completely different skill set, but I was more mature and understood my technique, so I was never really troubled too much. Bumrah was towards the end of my career, when I was not as agile anymore. But we have always had great battles. It’s different generations. But if I had to say who was most consistent, it was Bumrah. He did not make a lot of mistakes. Malinga is not far behind him,” he concluded.