South African great AB de Villiers will make his Big Bash League debut this summer after signing with Brisbane Heat for the second half of their campaign.
The former Proteas captain will be available for the Heat from January, with the finals included in his contract.
The 35-year-old averaged more than 50 with the bat in 114 Tests and 228 ODIs, and has 295 Twenty 20 games to his credit during his outstanding career.
Heat coach Darren Lehmann said he was delighted to have added a player of de Villiers’ quality for BBL09.
“World class players don’t just come along every day and to have a player of AB’s stature and skill in the BBL is a fantastic outcome for everyone, not just the Heat,” he said.
“He’s a 360-degree player, great skills, outstanding temperament and an insightful leader.
“We’re excited to bring him into the group this summer and allow him to showcase his skills for the fans.”
De Villiers, who retired from international cricket last year, piled on 442 runs at a strike rate of 154 – including five half centuries – for Royal Challengers Bangalore in this year’s IPL.
More recently, he scored 348 runs at an average of 69.6 and posted a strike rate of 182.19 in England’s T20 Blast.
De Villiers said the decision to join the Heat was an easy one.
“The Heat have always stood out to me,” he told brisbaneheat.com.au.
“Brisbane is a lovely city – I’ve been there a few times before travelling with the South African team.
“I love the place, I love the weather. It’s similar to Pretoria where I’m from.”
“They play the kind of cricket that I want to be associated with. It’s quite aggressive. They go after the attack.
“And the Gabba, it’s a beautiful cricket field. It’s a great wicket and games are always of a high quality.”
De Villers said conversations with Heat’s former New Zealand star Brendon McCullum and the chance to play alongside Chris Lynn had convinced him to play in the Australian competition.
“I’ve spoken to Chris a few times after games in the IPL. I always enjoy the way he plays the game, he really goes after the bowling, he attacks the game, and he seems like a really good teammate,” he said.
“He gives his best shot for the boys. I’m looking forward to joining forces with him,” de Villiers said.
anon
Roar Pro
I hope we don't run him out of the country like we did Chris Gayle. No wonder we have trouble attracting big names to this tournament.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
That's excellent Jeff. Thanks for the low down on it all. Geez, you know your stuff m8. Cheers.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Bangladesh's Premier League runs through December and January, so same issue re scheduling conflicts with India, but doubtful Indians would play anyway due to security issues. PAK and AFG tournaments likewise have security issues for Indians. SL: Not even sure they yet have a proper T20 comp due to the SLCB's maladministration. NZ's Super Smash runs concurrent with India's/Australia's seasons as did SAF's Ram Slam T20 Challenge but the latter has been cancelled now and not sure if the SACB is replacing it. So that leaves England and West Indies re nations with non-conflicting seasons with India. The ECB's Vitality Blast had no Indian o/s players this year, but then again India's T20 side was playing the WIN at the same time, so with only two o/s players allowed in each Blast team, it's unlikely "lesser" Indian T20 players would get picked up given most of the world's top tier international T20 players were available at that time of year (i.e. AUS, SAF, PAK, AFG, BAN etc). The Carribean Premier League runs Sept to Oct but had no Indians this year. So I think a lot of it comes down to lack of available tournaments to play in due to timing of seasons and the relentless schedule of India's national team; most of the franchise domestic T20 comps want to fill their limited o/s player spots with international T20 players and India's players seem rarely available when the tournaments are on. The IPL is an interesting one: for all the focus on T20 in that country, the IPL only has 8 teams and yet each team can play up to four o/s players. With not much of a lower-level domestic T20 comp below the IPL, it's surprising how few Indians actually get T20 exposure.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Fair enough then. That explains it nicely for us. .. What about other leagues in their off season Jeff. Surely some of them must place elsewhere. They probably have a thousand decent T20 players.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
India's domestic season runs in parallel to Australia's, around Sept to Mar, and its international teams are typically playing back to back series during this period.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Great to see AB having a run but still no Indians. Do any Indians play in other leagues around the world or are they still constrained by the IPL?
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Dale Steyn???
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
He won't disappoint. Doesn't know how to actually. Great team man too.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Would of liked us to have ago at getting Joffra to the Gabba rather than both the overseas spinners. Still lacking a very good pace bowling option. But AB is a GUN! Looking forward to him and Lynny going nuts together
Tom
Guest
Renshaw hits them as hard as anyone when he's on too
AREH
Roar Guru
Bryant, Heazlett, Lynn, ABDV and Cutting...well there's some serious power
Paul D
Roar Guru
Huge news. Finally the Heat might have a strong finish to the season instead of starting strong and spluttering out
Bunney
Roar Rookie
Awesome. Now all the Heat needs are a couple of class quicks