AB de Villiers (left) and Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers on TOI Sports’ Bombay Sports Exchange Podcast

Former batsman of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) AB de Villiers has revealed that before walking away from the game in 2021, Virat Kohli had tried to convince him not to retire from franchise cricket.Speaking on TOI Sports’ Bombay Sports Exchange podcast, de Villiers said Kohli tried to change his mind, but he had already decided it was the right time to move on. When de Villiers was asked whether Kohli had tried to stop him, he said, “Yes. He tried.”The South African great retired from international cricket in 2018 after helping his team defeat India and Australia on home soil. He continued to play franchise cricket, including for RCB in the Indian Premier League (IPL), before retiring from all formats of the game in 2021.“I walked away from international cricket exactly when I wanted to (2018). We had beaten India and Australia on home soil and I went away very excited.”“Then I decided I would continue playing some T20 tournaments, travel the world with my family, take them to the IPL, take them to England for the Blast, Australia for the Big Bash and a few other tournaments. When I finally felt ready, I called it quits one day (from franchise cricket, too, in 2021).”De Villiers said that his retirement from the IPL was not a sudden decision and he had been thinking about it during his last season.De Villiers said, “It took time. This idea was in my mind throughout the final season. Eventually, I went to Virat and said, ‘I’m done’.”De Villiers also talked about the pressure of playing in front of a packed crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with fans chanting his name.“That can also be tiring. Those moments also lead to sleepless nights. It’s not all sunshine and roses. There are tough moments too. The expectations and pressure you put on yourself can be suffocating at times. I’ve talked about it before. I’m incredibly proud of what I achieved. But before big matches, I would often struggle to sleep. I was so focused on making an impact for the team that I had to just be myself. It seemed difficult to live. So it was not always easy,” de Villiers said on TOI Sports’ Bombay Sports Exchange podcast.Reflecting on life after retirement, he said that the joy of success does not last long, even for the greatest players.“Of course, I miss those moments. When everything clicked and the crowd helped me enter that arena, it was an incredible feeling. But success disappears very quickly. Every champion will tell you the same thing. You win the biggest trophy, and an hour later you are already asking yourself, “Now what?” Then your focus immediately shifts to the next trophy. You are never completely satisfied with those achievements. Having said that, I no longer enjoy those I can look back on the memories with immense gratitude.“