‘I’ve got as much respect for him’, De Villiers’ brutally honest take on his first impression of Kohli

A misunderstood character, at least for the initial part of his career, Virat Kohli turned things around in a way that many could not have imagined. The batsman emerged as one of the finest the game has ever seen. But, in his early days as a cricketer, be it international cricket or IPL, many people used to see Kohli as an ‘arrogant’ person.

De Villiers said in the video, during a chat with Gayle –

“Oh my goodness…I have had this question before and I had given this answer before as well. I think he was quite cocky and arrogant when I met him the first time. With that hairstyle and he had bit of a strut going …yes flamboyant, absolutely.” De Villiers admitted in a conversation with Chris Gayle ahead of the start of the IPL 2023 season that he too found Kohli ‘arrogant and cocky’ when he first met him.

In an episode of Bold Diaries, De Villiers was brutally honest about his first impression of Kohli. But he admitted that his views flipped the moment he got to know Virat ‘the human being’ from close quarters.

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De Villiers further said – “But the minute I got to know him a bit better and watched him play I mean I’ve got as much respect for him but I got to know him better as a human being.”

De Villiers added –

“I think he had a barrier around him when I met him the first time and that barrier opened up and I got to know the person. I didn’t not like him but you know what I’m saying. He’s a top person now but first impression was ufff…he’s got to come down to earth a bit.”