No 3: AB de Villiers

Play 03:04 Play 03:04 Tom Moody on what makes AB de Villiers a T20 great

Trophies won: none. Hearts won: take a conservative estimate and multiply it by a million. When the definitive history of the T20 revolution has been written, and club has fully taken over from country as the forum in which the world's very best players are assessed, AB de Villiers will stand supreme as an IPL supernova; perhaps the most significant import the tournament has ever known.

His runs alone, 5162 in 184 matches, set him apart from virtually every overseas signing in the competition's history: only Australia's David Warner managed more (6565 from the exact same number of games), though he had the advantage of being an opener, compared to de Villiers' perpetually floating role, most of which he fulfilled during his decade at Royal Challengers Bangalore as part of the definitive Galactico batting line-up.

When you crunch his figures further, however, the juice truly starts to flood out. His IPL career strike rate of 151.68 is simply incomparable - not even his Universe Boss team-mate, Chris Gayle (148.96), could top that. Across his last ten years at the tournament from 2012 to 2021, de Villiers' tempo for the season dipped below 148 only once, while at his zenith, in 2015 and 2016, he ransacked precisely 1200 runs at an average of 50 from 700 balls (SR 171.42).

It was de Villiers' style that earned the adoration. He was a 360-degree batter long before data analysts demanded such ubiquity of angles - as adept at a wristy, inside-out launch over extra cover as an over-the-shoulder slam through fine leg with which he tormented a generation of death bowlers. And he did it all with a million-watt smile, as often as not in the embrace of his captain, Virat Kohli, a man whose own gargantuan profile only served to enhance the esteem in which he was held.

De Villiers T20 factfile Matches: 262

262 Runs: 7752

7752 Strike rate: 153.81

153.81 PotM awards: 35

35 Titles: 2

2 Standout stat: Among the 32 batters who have scored at least 500 runs in the death overs in the IPL, de Villiers' strike rate (232.56) and average (40.60) are the highest

In some people's assessment, de Villiers loses credit for the fact that neither RCB nor his original team, Delhi Daredevils, ever managed to claim an IPL title. It is true that his record in playoffs dipped from his usual standards - he managed a top score of 18 in two appearances in the final - but to focus on the silverware is to lose sight of the immersive nature of his involvement.

For 14 seasons from inception, de Villiers and the IPL grew in conjunction with one another, and the glories came not in the trophy lifts but in the memories along the way. None more visceral, perhaps, than his legendary assault on his fellow South African, Dale Steyn, at the Chinnaswamy in 2012, when he savaged 23 runs from Steyn's final over, including a 146kph yorker drilled into the stands at extra cover.

AB de Villiers: the man who invented 360-degree batting Manan Vatsyayana / © AFP/Getty Images

It was a moment that epitomised the changing dynamics of the world game. South Africa have still not won a major global title, and that blue-on-blue arguably put out some of the fire in Steyn's own white-ball game. At the same time, de Villiers' T20I record would remain modest - 1672 runs at 26.12 with a best of 79 not out - while the angst that accompanied his international retirement in 2018 reflects the extent to which he knew where his bread was truly buttered. An adored icon of a league that, on his watch, became one of the biggest sports events on the planet. It's not a bad legacy to fall back on.

Career high: Runs were AB's IPL currency, and so nothing expressed his impact more perfectly than his tournament-best score of 133 not out from 59 balls against Mumbai Indians in 2015. Fittingly, Kohli was with him throughout, their unbroken stand of 215 in 102 balls giving the Wankhede crowd a delirious afternoon of strokeplay.

Stats in factfile sidebars are for all T20 matches, minus internationals, and current as up to the start of the 2025 IPL. League wins cover tournaments of four teams and above, and include seasons where the player appeared in at least one match for the winning team

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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