Virat Kohli‘s close friendship with AB de Villiers is one of the most enduring bonds in cricket, strengthened over the years by their time together at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, their relationship did not begin with the kind of admiration that defines it today, with the former South Africa captain admitting that his first impression of the Indian batting great was that he was “arrogant and cocky”.Speaking on a podcast with Prakhar Gupta, De Villiers looked back at his initial perception of Kohli and explained why the young Indian had come across that way when they first met.Asked whether he had genuinely considered Kohli “arrogant and cocky”, De Villiers did not deny it.“Yeah, and I think he’ll agree with that,” he said.The South African great clarified that what he had initially interpreted as arrogance was largely Kohli’s extraordinary self-belief. According to De Villiers, the Indian batter’s confidence was evident from an early age, although it could sometimes be misunderstood by those around him.“Just a high level of confidence and he’s always played his cricket that way. It gets misinterpreted sometimes. In my case, that’s what happened as well. He came across as overly confident,” he said.De Villiers added that his description of Kohli was partly tongue-in-cheek, while acknowledging that the former India captain possessed immense confidence during his formative years in international cricket.“I mean, that was my first impression. It’s always tongue-in-cheek when I say that, but I think he’ll agree with that. He was a very confident youngster at the age of 19, 20, 21. Early days. That’s also what’s necessary to achieve great success. You really need to believe in your own ability and you just learn to manage that over the years,” he added.De Villiers also reflected on how Kohli’s outlook changed as he matured, suggesting that the confidence which had once appeared excessive gradually gave way to a more balanced personality.The former South Africa captain felt Kohli’s early years were shaped by a strong desire to prove himself, but that instinct softened as he established himself among the leading players in world cricket.“That faded away as he grew older and as he became more balanced as a person and as a cricket player. I think he had a lot to prove when he was younger, and that faded away. And that also changed that sense of having to be overly confident with people, but that changed,” he said.
