Dubai: India's legendary batsman Virat Kohli on Wednesday described AB de Villiers as the "most talented cricketer" he has played with. South African great de Villiers was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame along with England legend Alastair Cook and India's Neetu David.

You totally deserve the Hall of Fame.

In an open letter, Kohli praised his former teammate from IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore. Kohli wrote, 'You fully deserve your place - after all, the Hall of Fame represents your impact on the game and your contribution has been truly unique. People have always talked about your potential and it is right. You are the most talented cricketer I have played with, you are definitely number one.'

Only select players can influence the mindset of the audience.

Kohli described de Villiers' belief and perseverance in upholding the values ​​of the game as qualities that had an impact on the mindset of the spectators. He wrote, 'Many players can perform impressively but very few players can influence the mindset of the spectators. For me, this is the biggest value as a cricketer and this is what makes you so special. While playing with you and against you, you always had a very clear understanding of how the game should be played and you never deviated from it, whether you were performing well or not.'

Kohli said that de Villiers is a player who often rescues his team from difficulties. It was never about anyone else. It was never about competing with any other player.

Players who rescue the team from difficult situations

The Indian cricketer said, 'It was always about what impact you could make for the team. In difficult situations, you were often the person to rescue your team. Your desire to be the person who won the game for your team was tremendous and I learned a lot from it.'

Virat got a lesson from ABD.

Kohli said that de Villiers taught him the importance of not being satisfied with his achievements. He said, 'I remember I learned from you that whatever you have done in the last four matches does not matter. It is about how you look at today's match. It is about always being positive, always taking the game forward, and finding a way to get the job done. You were always in complete sync with the needs of the team. That is why it was most difficult to plan for you when we were in opposing teams in international cricket.'

Confidence is ABD's most important quality.

Kohli, who shared the dressing room with de Villiers at Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2011-2021, said the former South African captain's 'confidence' is a quality that is most important to him. Kohli also recalled the memories of the 2015 Test match played in New Delhi in which the South African batsmen worked hard to draw the match. Kohli said, 'Everyone remembers your aggressive shot but you adapt yourself according to the situation. Take the 2015 Test match played in Delhi when you faced 297 balls and scored 43 runs in an attempt to save the Test match.'

This innings was an example of being a team player.

He said, 'At some point in time, you must have thought that I have faced 200 balls, so I should hit a boundary. But once you put yourself in the position that was needed, you just kept moving forward. It all depends on your belief in your ability. It was not just about blind shots. You could defend the ball and you had faith in that defense. Playing like this according to South Africa's need is a great example of you being a team player.'