‘Arrogant and cocky’: AB de Villiers on why Virat Kohli seemed ‘too confident’

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli Virat Kohli’s close friendship with AB de Villiers is one of the most enduring bonds in cricket, enhanced over the years by their stint together with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, their relationship did not begin with the 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”.In a podcast with Prakhar Gupta, De Villiers looked back on his initial perception of Kohli and explained why the young Indian came across that way when they first met.Asked if he really thought Kohli was “arrogant and conceited”, De Villiers did not deny it.“Yeah, and I think she’ll agree to that,” he said.The South African great clarified that what he initially interpreted as arrogance was largely Kohli’s extraordinary confidence. According to De Villiers, the Indian batsman’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 like that. Sometimes it gets misinterpreted. It happened in my case too. He came across as overconfident,” he said.De Villiers added that his description of Kohli was somewhat off-putting, while acknowledging that the former India captain had 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. He was a very confident young man at the age of 19, 20, 21. That’s also what it takes to achieve great success. You really have to believe in your own abilities and you learn to manage that over the years,” he added.De Villiers also reflected on how Kohli’s outlook has changed as he has matured, suggesting that the confidence that once seemed over-the-top has gradually given way to a more level-headed 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 world cricket’s leading players.“That went away as he got older and became more balanced as a person and as a cricketer. I think he had a lot to prove when he was younger and that went away. And that also changed the feeling that he had to be overconfident with people, but that changed,” he said.