{ "id": "52472", "author": "13", "cnmid": "0", "title": "AB de Villiers to make Big Bash League debut with Brisbane Heat", "lang": "en", "series": "1", "cup_year": "2019", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Brisbane, Oct 1:\u00a0\u00a0Former South Africa star AB de Villiers will be making his Big Bash League (BBL) debut nt - with Brisbane Heat for the upcoming edition of the T20 league. de Villiers will be playi", "subtype": "", "editor1": "

Brisbane, Oct 1: <\/strong> Former South Africa star AB de Villiers will be making his Big Bash League (BBL) debut nt - with Brisbane Heat for the upcoming edition of the T20 league.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

de Villiers will be playing in the second half of BBL Season 9, replacing Brendon McCullum, who retired from T20 leagues this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The swashbuckling batsman, who hung his boots from international cricket in April last year, was understood to be on the lookout for a BBL club.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

De Villiers said the decision to join the Heat for the BBL was straight-forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"The Heat have always stood out to me," he told brisbaneheat.com.au.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"Brisbane is a lovely city - I've been there a few times before traveling with the South African team. I love the place, I love the weather. It's similar to Pretoria where I'm from.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"They play the kind of cricket that I want to be associated with. It's quite aggressive. They go after the attack. And the Gabba, it's a beautiful cricket field. It's a great wicket and games are always of a high quality," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The 360-degree batsman represented Proteas in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is in which he amassed 8765, 9577 and 1672 runs, respectively.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

In the last edition of the Indian Premier League, the 35-year-old scored 442 runs at a strike rate of 154 including five 50-plus scores for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Likewise, he made a significant impact for Middlesex in the recent Blast T20 competition, scoring four half centuries in eight innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

de Villiers also revealed he had spoken with McCullum about the Heat: "I've spoken to Chris a few times after games in the IPL. I always enjoy the way he plays the game, he really goes after the bowling, he attacks the game, and he seems like a really good teammate."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Meanwhile, Heat coach Darren Lehmann said he was over the moon to have the chance to work with de Villiers for the first time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"World class players don't just come along every day and to have a player of AB's stature and skill in the BBL is a fantastic outcome for everyone, not just the Heat," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"He's a 360-degree player, great skills, outstanding temperament and an insightful leader. We're excited to bring him into the group this summer and allow him to showcase his skills for the fans."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The former South Africa captain would be potentially playing six games as well as being available for the finals should the Heat qualify in the upcoming BBL edition.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2019\/10\/AB-de-Villiers.jpg", "alt_img": "AB de Villiers", "alt_title": "Brisbane Heat", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "AB de Villiers to make Big Bash League debut with Brisbane Heat On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Brisbane, Oct 1:\u00a0\u00a0Former South Africa star AB de Villiers will be making his Big Bash League (BBL) debut nt - with Brisbane Heat for the upcoming edition of the T20 league. de Villiers will be playi", "seo_keywords": "Big Bash League, AB De Villiers, Brisbane Heat", "tag": "", "tagging": "Big Bash League,AB De Villiers,Brisbane Heat,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "ab-de-villiers-to-make-big-bash-league-debut-with-brisbane-heat", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "1428", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2019-10-01 09:25:53", "updated": "2019-10-01 09:25:53", "img_from": "Twitter", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Brisbane Heat, AB de Villiers, Big Bash League", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2019-10-01 09:25:53", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2019-10-01 09:25:53", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/ab-de-villiers-to-make-big-bash-league-debut-with-brisbane-heat-52472" }