ABP Live Sports
abplive|16-06-2025
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers shared a legendary partnership at Royal Challengers Bangalore for over 11 years, developing a close friendship both on and off the field.
However, AB de Villiers has now revealed that there was a time when their bond was tested — and communication between the two came to a complete halt.
In a recent interview, de Villiers admitted that the rift began in early 2024, after he unintentionally disclosed on his YouTube channel that Kohli had taken a break because Anushka Sharma was expecting their second child.
Following the incident, the two didn’t speak for several months.
But six months ago, they reconnected, and all is well again. In fact, AB de Villiers was present at the IPL 2025 final, where RCB lifted their first-ever title. He celebrated alongside Kohli, putting an emotional end to a difficult chapter in their friendship."I know we were in the same boat because we spoke about it. He's been in touch with me over the last six months. Thank goodness, because I did have a bit of a footfall not so long ago when they were expecting their second child (De Villiers had publicly announced it before Kohli). So I was very relieved when he started talking to me again," de Villiers said in an interview.
AB de Villiers revealed that Kohli had reached out to him during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25, when the former India skipper was going through a rough patch in his career.
"So he was talking about... We all know he went through a bit of a patch and sort of wanted to bounce a few ideas off me — how did I get through certain moments of my life. So I knew what kind of phase he was going through, considering his age, how many games he's played, the dynamics of being in the team all the time, the politics thereof as well.
"Lots of things weigh in on you. And I shared with him from the heart what I felt and what I think, what I'm seeing from the side, watching him on the screen. So very happy that he's still around playing cricket. And the decision to not play Test cricket would have come from the heart.
"And I support him 100% with that. He's had a wonderful career, and I want him to enjoy his cricket until the very last ball. And if that is the way forward for him, then great, I'm right behind him. Hopefully, a lot more white-ball cricket for him left," he concluded.