AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers married Danielle Swart in 2013. The couple has one son named Abraham who was born in 2015.

He is a devout Christian, and has spoken about how his faith in Jesus is crucial to his life and career. He has also described the Bible as his favorite book.

He is also known for his musical talents; his album 'Maak Jou Drome Waar' did quite well, and hit the national music charts.

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers was born on 17th February 1984, in Warmbad which is situated in the Limpopo region of South Africa. His father’s name is Abraham B de Villiers and his mother’s is Millie de Villiers. He is the youngest of three brothers.

Although his father is a doctor, he was very enthusiastic about sports and therefore he used to encourage his sons to take part in sports as well. De Villiers did his schooling from Afrikaans Boys’ High School, in Pretoria, South Africa. Along with cricket, he used to excel in golf, rugby, swimming and tennis as well.

Despite being skilled in several sports, AB de Villiers finally made up his mind to pursue a career in cricket. He started playing for the Titans in 2003 and played for Carrickfergus Cricket Club in Northern Ireland as an overseas player from the next year.

In December 2004, he made his test debut against England. Although he was just twenty years of age, his performance was well appreciated. Over the years, he gained a reputation as an outstanding fielder as well.

He came to attention after taking part in the 2007 World Cup. However, his performance in the tournament wasn’t very remarkable and even received criticism. Still his team managed to enter the semi-finals where they lost to Australia.

AB de Villiers gained a lot of fame and reputation the following year, after he scored a double century in a match against India, becoming the first South African to have ever done so. He managed to make 217 runs and yet remain not out.

In 2008-09, he played his first test series in Perth, Australia, where he helped his team achieve victory. This was also South Africa’s first win in Australia after fifteen years.

Throughout his career, AB de Villiers has won numerous ‘Player of the series’ and ‘Man of the Match’ Awards.

Some of the most significant records he has made in his career are the fastest half century and century in an ODI, fastest 150 in an ODI, most sixes in an ODI, and fastest player to reach 9000 runs in ODI.

He is the first South African to score two centuries in a single World Cup, and also the first South African to score a double century against India.