AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers made 2015 the year of his life with the bat. In January he smashed the fastest century in ODI history, off 31 balls against West Indies at the Wanderers, finishing with 149 from 44 deliveries. Weeks later, at the World Cup, he hammered an unbeaten 162 off 66 against the same opponents. Those innings remain the purest distillation of his gift: audacity, hand-eye coordination, and an almost supernatural ability to find gaps that did not exist.

From a composed Test debut in 2004 to redefining the limits of white-ball batting, de Villiers amassed roughly 20,000 international runs across formats, averaging over 50 in both Tests and ODIs. His 360-degree strokeplay made field settings feel pointless, and his athleticism in the field set standards that left teammates in awe. He captained South Africa in the one-day side and anchored their batting order for over a decade.

He retired from international cricket in 2018, preferring to end on his own terms, and continued in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, where his innings defined the franchise until he stopped playing altogether in 2021. Talk of an international comeback surfaced more than once but never materialised. He remains the most inventive batsman of his generation, a man who treated boundaries as suggestions rather than restrictions.