Indian Premier League’s franchisee Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has recently announced on its official Twitter handle @RCBTweets that the jersey numbers worn by the two legendary players – AB de Villers and Chris Gayle viz. 17 and 333, will be retired forever. The two jerseys shall be inducted into the IPL’s Hall of Fame on March 26 of this year. The event shall be hosted by RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the presence of the two stars.
Jersey No. 17 and AB De Villers have always been synonymous. Ever since Villiers joined the franchise in 2011, the player had played 11 seasons wearing the same jersey and had scored 4491 runs in a total of 156 matches for the team. He had slammed 37 50s and 2 100s for the Bangalore-based franchise. De Villiers had a strike rate of 152 for RCB and posted five 100-plus partnerships with Virat Kohli, as well as two 200-plus stands.
Villiers even picked up an award for the most power-packed knock in the 2012 IPL for his assault on Dale Steyn. He had always been a finisher par excellence, like the time when he hit a sublime hundred in Mumbai in 2015 and another one in Bengaluru against Gujarat Lions in 2016. However, to everybody’s surprise, Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in November 2021.
“It’s difficult to put into words the value of spending time with some of the best players in the world from different countries. In my first year in the IPL with the Delhi Daredevils I found myself in a dressing room with Glenn McGrath, Tillakaratne Dilshan and various others. The impact that had on my game was immense and you can see how my game went to the next level from 2008 onwards,” De Villiers said in a recent interview.
While the Jersey No. 333 was always the fearsome armor on the field of the great Chris Gayle. If one remembers the glorious early days of IPL, Chris Gayle was the one who scored the very first hundred in the format. From that day, the ferocious West Indies player had always been a nightmare for every bowler. Every record, including most runs (now 10,000+), most hundreds, fastest hundred, and most fours and sixes, is owned by Gayle. Crowned as one of the most barbarous hitters of the cricket ball ever - he once swung a Brett Lee delivery past the Lord Tennyson school outside Oval! When it comes to IPL, Gayle has an impeccable Report Card there too. He started playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009 before moving to RCB in 2011. In 2013, he smashed a total of 708 runs in just 16 matches for RCB which includes an unbeaten 175. Soon enough, he was bought by the Punjab Kings in 2018 where he played for four seasons.
Off the field, Gayle is known for his charismatic personality and has often been described as a larger-than-life figure in cricket. He is also a philanthropist, with his Chris Gayle Foundation supporting various causes in Jamaica, including education and healthcare. He is a true idol for every player and the young enthusiasts of the game.
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