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Published 14:47 IST, January 10th 2020

AB De Villiers eyes BBL cup as he gears up for debut with Brisbane Heat

All eyes are on one of the most destructive and talented T20 batsmen in the world Ab de Villiers, who is all set to make his BBL debut for the Brisbane Heat

Reported by: Koushik Narayanan
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All eyes are on one of the most destructive and talented T20 batsmen in the world Ab de Villiers, who is all set to make his Big Bash League (BBL) debut for the Brisbane Heat. The signing of the 35-year old player is one of the biggest in the nine-year history of the tournament and he will replace the void left by New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum who retired from the T20 circuit earlier this year. As the world watches on waiting for Ab de Villiers to resume his innings in the middle for South Africa, coming out of retirement, fans hope they will get a preview of their favourite explosive Mr 360 before the beginning of the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. 

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Ab de Villiers eyes BBL Cup on debut

The former South African skipper addressed the Heat fans through a video and revealed that he was very excited to play in the Big Bash League. Ab de Villiers said that he had heard a lot of stories about the team, league and the atmosphere and said that he can't wait to play in the league. De Villiers concluded his message by saying that he aimed for the trophy with the support of the fans. 

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De Villiers: "The standard of cricket is good in BBL"

Speaking to an Australian cricket website cricket.com.au, he said, “It’s one of the best tournaments around and I’ve been following it for a while now. From what I’ve heard from other players who have played there, it’s just all positives. The standard of cricket is good, and they get big crowds. I must also say the Brisbane Heat have always stood out to me. They play the kind of cricket that I want to play - it's quite aggressive and they go after the attack. And the Gabba is a beautiful cricket ground. It’s got a great wicket and games are always of high quality.”

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Faf on de Villiers' comeback

While speaking to a sports publication, Faf du Plessis said that the discussions of AB de Villiers' comeback have been taking place for quite some months but a decision still needs to be taken on it. Faf also highlighted that the ICC World T20 was not too far away and they do not have too many T20I games heading into next year's global event. At the same time, the Proteas skipper also went on to say that red-ball cricket is the most important thing right now but T20 cricket is a different beast.

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Updated 14:59 IST, January 10th 2020

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