AB de Villiers is still better than half the internationals at IPL, says Proteas legend Dale Steyn

Former Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn has hailed AB de Villiers' standout performances in South Africa’s World Championship of Legends (WCL) victory at Edgbaston.

De Villiers put years of near-misses during his illustrious career, especially the 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand when Steyn failed to defend 12 runs in the final over, behind him by lifting the WCL title this past weekend. 

The former Proteas skipper was magnificent throughout the tournament, top-scoring with 429 runs in six innings at an average of 143.00, with a strike rate of 220, with three centuries and a fifty.

De Villiers, though, kept his best for the final when he smashed an unbeaten 120* in 60 balls, with 12 fours and seven sixes, helping his team chase down 196 with nine wickets in hand in the final against Pakistan.

After watching "Mr 360", Steyn posted in awe on X: "Unpopular/Popular opinion. AB is still better than half the internationals at IPL. Maybe even more."

De Villiers last played competitive cricket in the IPL 2021 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), scoring 313 runs in 14 matches with two fifties and a best score of 76*.

Despite the clamour on social media for De Villiers to make a comeback to the various T20 Leagues, the 41-year-old has ruled out a return to competitive cricket, stating that he played his last two IPL seasons with an eye injury sustained while playing with his children.