IPL 2020: 'He is a freak,' RCB head coach Simon Katich hails 'greatest of all time' batsman

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Simon Katich described AB de Villiers as a "freak" after the wicketkeeper-batsman single-handedly won RCB the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday.

Even though he has retired, de Villiers remains one of the most dangerous batsmen, especially in the shortest format of the game. After his match-winning knock of 55 from 22 balls against RR at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, de Villiers admitted that he was nervous ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 due to lack of match practice, but those fears have gone now.

He struck six sixes and a four en route 55 and, in the process, he also became only the second batsman to complete 4,000 or more runs for RCB after his skipper Virat Kohli.

In a press conference, after RCB's seven-wicket victory over RR on Saturday, Katich hailed "greatest of all time" de Villiers.

"He is a freak, isn't he? That's why he is the greatest of all time. What we saw was another masterclass, we have seen a number of them already in this tournament. He had one here against Mumbai, and obviously the other day he got 73 off 33," added Katich.

De Villiers was not sent at his usual No. 4 spot as he batted at No. 6 against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Sharjah on Thursday (Oct. 15). He came in to bat when less than four overs were left in RCB's innings. The 36-year-old only managed two runs off five deliveries before Mohammed Shami dismissed him in the 18th over. As a result, RCB managed only 171 runs in 20 overs, which was never going to be enough at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

In the same interview, Katich admitted that for the RR game, they made sure de Villiers batted at his usual No. 4 spot. "We certainly made sure that he bats in his right position today. We certainly learnt from our mistake and he was wonderful. The reason we won was I think he was magnificent, Chris Morris was brilliant, (Yuzvendra Chahal) got us back in the game with his two wickets, we had a number of crucial performances but AB basically won us the game single-handedly.

Looked like Rajasthan deserved to win and we got out of jail really. It was the 19th over when de Villiers exploded, smashing three successive sixes off Jaydev Unadkat, who ended up conceding 25 runs to change the complexion of the match," the RCB coach added.

De Villiers has scored 285 runs in nine innings at an average of 57 so far in IPL 2020. With six wins in nine matches, RCB are currently third in the IPL 2020 points table. They next take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.