Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter AB de Villiers has opened up about his first encounter with Virat Kohli in 2011 and revealed that when he first met the ex-skipper he found him "cocky and arrogant".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The South African great joined RCB in 2011 and established a strong rapport with Kohli. The duo together became the mainstay of RCB's batting lineup for almost a decade in the Indian Premier League (IPL).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
De Villiers announced his retirement from all formats of cricket in November 202 while Kohli continues to be an essential component of the RCB team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I've heard this question before. I'm going to give an honest answer. I thought he was quite cocky when I met him for the first time. He had this hairstyle going and he was quite flamboyant," De Villiers said during an interaction with Chris Gayle on RCB podcast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
ABD further said that his perception of Kohli changed as soon he got to know him closely. "But the minute I got to know him better as a human, I think he had a barrier around him when I met him for the first time, that barrier opened up. Lots of respect after that first meeting. He is a top man but my first impression was like 'woah'," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
De Villiers, who featured in 144 matches for RCB and scored close to 5,000 runs, was recently inducted into RCB's Hall of Fame and his jersey No. 17 was retired as a mark of respect for his contributions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As a tribute to his valuable contributions to the franchise, De Villiers was inducted into RCB's Hall of Fame, and his jersey number 17 was retired as a mark of respect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
RCB will begin their IPL 2023 campaign on April 2 against Mumbai Indians at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.<\/p>\r\n\r\n