Royal Challengers Bangalore confirmed in a tweet that they will retire the jersey numbers worn by cricketing legends AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle to honor them. Both the legends were inducted into the Indian Premier League side RCB’s Hall of Fame on March 26.
RCB tweeted “Jersey numbers 17 and 333 will be retired forever as a tribute to @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle, when we induct the legends of RCB into the Hall of Fame.”
Ab de Villiers For RCB
AB de Villiers, also known as Mr. 360 for his unique and unpredictable shots, wore the number 17 jersey and played 11 seasons (2011-2021) for RCB, during which he played 156 matches and scored 4,491 runs for the franchise.
The South African cricketer also slammed 2 centuries and 37 half-centuries for RCB, with the highest score of 133 not out during the 2015 season. AB de Villiers had a strike rate touching 152 for RCB. De Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in November 2021
With Virat Kohli, de Villiers posted five 100-plus partnerships for RCB and two 200-plus stands, becoming the only pair in the world to post two such partnerships.
Chris Gayle Throughout IPL
West Indian hard hitter Gayle played for RCB for seven seasons (2011-2017) and his jersey No. 333 became the most feared among opposing teams as Gayle wouldn’t stop scoring boundaries in all corners of the ground once set. During the 2013 IPL season, the Jamaican smashed a mindboggling 708 runs in 16 matches for RCB, including an unbeaten 175.
Gayle appeared in 142 IPL matches, scoring 4965 runs with a strike rate of 148.96 and an average of 39.72. His greatest score is 175 for RCB, which is the most in IPL history. Gayle also picked up 18 wickets during his IPL career.
Gayle began his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009, before moving to RCB, where he served the longest stint with an IPL franchise. He was bought by Punjab Kings in 2018, where he played four seasons.
