Published: Jun 06, 2015, 08:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 06, 2015, 08:24 PM (IST)
Cape Town: South African batsman AB de Villiers has said he wants to help his younger teammates in a similar way legend Jacques Kallis helped him early in his career. De Villiers won the South African Cricketer of the Year award. He won the award for the second successive year, matching the performance of former pacer Makhaya Ntini, who won it back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. Read: AB de Villiers wins 5 major CSA Awards
“He (Kallis) played a big role in my career,” De Villiers was quoted as saying by sport24.com on Saturday. “The same goes for Hashim and all the other batsmen who batted around him in their time. It’s the sort of influence I’d like to now have on the guys around me.” De Villiers capped off a successful season, winning five awards at South Africa’s annual cricket awards. He thus emulated the performance of ace batsman Hashim Amla who won five awards in 2010. Read: Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers gave me tips: Sarfaraz Khan
De Villiers was also named One-Day International (ODI) Cricketer of the Year while his peers and fans voted him as South African Players’ Player of the Year and Fans’ Player of the Year respectively. He also received the So Good Award for scoring the fastest century in the history of ODI cricket against the West Indies in December 2014.
