Ever since he joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011, AB de Villiers has been one of the heartthrobs -- the love showered on him no less than Virat Kohli or Chris Gayle until last year.
Not just when batting but even when he is warming up before matches, shouts of 'AB, AB' rent the air at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Also, despite not having won the IPL, RCB have got a passionate fan following that just keeps increasing year after year.
De Villiers said the team is trying hard to grant them the ultimate joy of winning the trophy this time. "I love the fans and I love contributing to the team in winning games. I know the fans enjoy when we do that. It is a relationship and we want to give enough so that they keep loving us and keep coming to games.
"The only way to do that is to win games of cricket, so there is pressure on us (to perform). But, they also feel the pressure sitting in the stands, watching us sometimes not playing well and hopefully we will give them pleasure this time by winning more often than not and hopefully winning the trophy."
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