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AB de Villiers left Virat Kohli out of his top five cricketers list, naming Kallis, Tendulkar, Warne, Flintoff, and Asif.

AB de Villiers leaves out Virat Kohli from his top 5 cricketers list: Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers has surprised fans by leaving out Virat Kohli’s name from his list of the top five best cricketers he played with or against during his career.

The former Proteas star, who enjoyed a stellar 14-year international journey, faced several greats of the game across formats. When asked on a podcast to reveal his five picks, de Villiers named South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, England’s Andrew Flintoff, Australian spin wizard Shane Warne, Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar, and Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif.

Interestingly, Virat Kohli—de Villiers’ long-time Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate and close friend—did not feature on the list. When England spinner Adil Rashid pointed out the omission, de Villiers admitted it and even apologized for not including Kohli’s name, acknowledging the Indian superstar’s stature in world cricket.

“Kallis, Flintoff, Mohammad Asif, Warne and Sachin with the crowds. The way he (Tendulkar) was received when he walked out to bat — everything would come to a standstill. Beautiful to watch him bat. Virat sorry, Sachin. That’s why such questions are so tough to answer,” de Villiers said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.

Furthermore, he hailed Kallis as the best cricketer of all time and recalled Andrew Flintoff’s famous yorker bowled to him at Edgbaston.

“Kallis is the best all-rounder or maybe the best cricketer of all time. Asif was the best seamer I ever faced. I loved playing against Warne, but I never faced difficulty. I liked his overall personality, the floppy hat, the zinc cream, the blonde hair. Again Andrew Flintoff, who was a big-match performer. That yorker to Kallis in Edgbaston is the best I have seen,” he added.

AB de Villiers powered South Africa Legends to the World Championship of Legends 2025 crown with a stunning knock. In the final against Pakistan, the Proteas chased 196 with ease.

De Villiers smashed 120 off just 60 balls—his third century of the tournament—as South Africa raced home in 16.5 overs with nine wickets in hand. JP Duminy offered solid support to ensure a smooth finish.

The South African great was named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the top run-scorer. He piled up 429 runs in six innings at an average of 143, including three centuries and a fifty.