AB de Villers may put family ahead of Big Bash League

It is learnt BBL franchises consider de Villiers less than a 50 per cent chance to make his way Down Under this summer due to family commitments. De Villiers and his wife Danielle have two children under the age of five and, although there will be no shortage of offers from BBL list managers, it’s understood the right-hander’s strong preference is to treat family as not just his top priority, but his only priority.

Multiple BBL clubs are aware of this and have reportedly said they are not expecting de Villiers to go to Australia this year, but believe he will eventually sign further down the track. The sentiment does not rule him out of signing a last-minute deal ahead of BBL 08, but it would be a flip of sorts from his current position.

There are also financial limitations in the BBL that are not as stringent in the lucrative IPL, where players can make more than AUS$2 million for seven weeks’ work. The BBL salary cap is around AUS$1.6million, meaning even the very best players cannot be paid more than $200,000 per season, excluding third party deals.

And even with the maximum payment to de Villiers, as much as 45 per cent of this would get chewed up from the Australian Tax Office, leaving the star player with around $110,000 for three months away from his family or living out of hotels with two kids.

For the average citizen, that’s exceptional money. But for a player who commands six figures and then some in the IPL and a bat deal with MRF that’s worth even more, it’s a pittance by comparison. De Villiers does have connections to several established players, coaches and a prominent list manager in the BBL.

Brisbane Heat coach Daniel Vettori was at the Delhi Daredevils and then at Bangalore Royal Challengers alongside de Villiers, while Sydney Thunder blaster Shane Watson has spent the past two seasons with the Protea.

Melbourne Stars list manager Trent Woodhill became close with de Villiers at Delhi in 2009, as did Melbourne Renegades coach Andrew McDonald. But it’s understood these relationships will be secondary to his desire to spend time with his family, forge ahead with several business interests and play for the Titans in the South African domestic competition.

Meanwhile, the Melbourne Stars have signed Dwayne Bravo alongside English leg-spinner Adil Rashid, while The Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat are battling it out for Proteas paceman Morne Morkel.

AB de Villiers has revealed a lot of secrets in a talk show called ‘What the Duck’ hosted by Vikram Sathaye. ABD participated in it along with his former South African teammate Jonty Rhodes. The duo recalled a lot of memories during their playing times.

ABD has shared information about various pranks and about how he troubled his former skipper Graeme Smith. He also shared insights about how he proposed his wife at the Taj Mahal.

When asked about his favourite Indian cricketer, ABD had no hesitation in naming Virender Sehwag. He told that he liked his aggressive attitude while Jonty named Suresh Raina his favourite Indian cricketer. It is surprising that ABD didn’t name Virat Kohli his favourite Indian cricketer as these two share an amazing rapport.

That’s not all, AB also couldn’t control his laughter when the show’s host revealed that Sehwag likes to sing while he’s on the crease taking on the bowlers. Villiers confessed that it’s funny to picture Virender Sehwag singing, he said, “Sorry I’m laughing. I’m just picturing Viru singing.”

“That’s what I like about him as a player. He is competitive… No matter which team he plays for, he wants to win, he wants to have an impact on the game and very similar to me although I don’t show it as much as he does on the field,” ABD told speaking about Virat Kohli.