Former South African cricket legend, AB de Villiers, recently expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Virat Kohli for his touching words after being inducted into the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame. De Villiers, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of his generation, was honored alongside England’s Alastair Cook and former Indian spinner Neetu David in the latest Hall of Fame class.

Kohli, a close friend and former teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore, penned a moving letter for de Villiers following the announcement, which left the South African star feeling deeply touched.

In a video posted on Instagram, de Villiers thanked the ICC for recognizing his contribution to the sport and addressed Kohli’s letter. “I want to thank all of you for supporting me and obviously a big thanks to the ICC. It's a great honour for me guys, thank you very much to the ICC, to all my fans out there, all the supporters over the years,” de Villiers said, showing his appreciation for the induction.

Despite the overwhelming recognition, de Villiers admitted to feeling shy about such accolades, “I get very shy with these kind of things, so that's why I don't go on about it too much. But yes, obviously it's a very proud moment and it sort of reminds me of all the hard work that's gone into getting to moments like this.”

De Villiers was particularly moved by Kohli’s message, where the Indian star emphasized the South African’s selfless attitude on the field. “It is really special for me and obviously Virat as well, thank you so very much for the kind words. What I am really proud about is Virat speaking about me always putting the team first,” De Villiers said, as quoted by ICC.

“Always prepared to do everything I can to have an impact on the team. And that’s how I want to be remembered by, not by my stats or my records. I want to be remembered as a guy who contributed to the team and always put the team first. I am very, very proud about that and I will not shy away from that. That is certainly the way I played my cricket and it was always a priority to me,” De Villiers added