IPL 2020: ‘We will hopefully bring the trophy home to Bangalore’ – AB de Villiers upbeat about RCB’s hopes

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have had an Indian Premier League season of highs and lows. In the end despite a wobble, RCB have made it to the Playoffs for the first time since 2016 when they were finalists. They finished 4th in the points table with 7 wins out of 14. They will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator and if they manage to win it, will face Delhi Capitals (DC) for a place in the IPL final against Mumbai Indians (MI).

AB de Villiers has been terrific for RCB this season and is one of the key reasons for RCB’s qualification to the playoffs. The South African has scored 398 runs in 14 matches at an average of 44. de Villiers’ knocks have come at a crucial time as well as his brilliance alone helped RCB win three matches. The wicketkeeper-batsman was the Man of the Match in all of these matches. He will now have his eyes set on the ultimate prize that has been eluding his franchise from the very beginning: the IPL trophy.

‘We have had a lot of fun’ – AB de Villiers

In a chat with Royal Challengers Bangalore along with RCB skipper Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers spoke about RCB’s performances in the tournament and their hopes of winning the trophy. “We have had a lot of fun and a very good tour. We are obviously missing the fans and the atmosphere in the stadiums. But the competitiveness is still there. We are there to win games for RCB and hopefully we can bring that trophy back to Bangalore.

If I was given the option six months ago that RCB will qualify somehow no matter how we get there. I would have taken it and been very happy about it,” de Villiers said.

The South African then talked about the season RCB have had. “Throughout the season we’ve had our ups and downs. But we’ve had some patches where we have played amazing cricket. Because of the dip we’ve had towards the end, I think we might get an upward curve in the end and if we do we’ll be a very dangerous team in these last three games. We have the capability of beating anyone,” the 36-year-old said.

On his role as a part of the leadership group in the team, de Villiers said, “It’s up to us senior guys like myself to keep the energy going and to keep the belief more than ever by sharing positive inspirational stories with the youngsters.”

Also Read: Ricky Ponting on DC’s loss in the Qualifier