New Delhi: For more than a decade, the sight… Virat Kohli And AB de Villiers Running between the wickets in red and gold was the heartbeat of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While their individual records are unparalleled, their lack of an IPL trophy together is one of cricket’s greatest paradoxes. Now, ahead of the 2026 season, de Villiers has offered a poignant reflection on why his greatest strength, an obsessive hunger for victory, could also be his “downfall”.The South African icon revealed that both he and Kohli shared a “naughty” trait: they just wanted to win a lot. This intense emotional investment often made the sport a deeply personal burden.
Addressing the Mbangwa Media YouTube Channelde Villiers explained that their bond was built on a shared DNA of extreme competitiveness. Once they joined forces at RCB in 2011, they realized they were cut from the same cloth. “We realized we played the same game, had the same view of the game, the same competitiveness, and really batted together, ran between the wickets, understood cricket and just wanted to win,” de Villiers said.However, there was a flip side to this elite mentality. De Villiers admitted that his inability to be detached from the result often worked against him, leading to a mental exhaustion that made every loss feel like a personal failure.“We were both probably naughty to want it too much, because the biggest loss in our careers is that the team wants to win too much, and it affected us so much that when we lost, we took it personally,” he admitted.Last season, Kohli finally won the coveted IPL title. “So it might be… well, at least he got some trophies. I didn’t get a lot,” de Villiers said with characteristic humility.As RCB prepares for a title defense campaign in 2026, de Villiers’ words serve as a reminder of the thin line between passion and pressure. For years, the Kohli-ABD era was defined by that “naughty” desire to win, a trait that made them legendary, even if at times it made the weight of the game too heavy to bear.
