Finn Allen shared how AB de Villiers changed his mindset during his time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2021.
Allen was signed by RCB as a replacement player after Josh Philippe pulled out due to personal reasons. Earlier in the auction, Allen had gone unsold. He did not get a chance to play any matches that season, but he learned a lot from experienced players like AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Allen spoke about his time at RCB and recalled a match in Chennai against Kolkata Knight Riders where AB de Villiers played a wonderful innings.
However, after the innings, de villiers as not satisfied with his performance and felt he could have done better. Allen said he was surprised that someone who played so well was still unhappy. In that match, AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 76 runs off just 34 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes.
“I remember an innings that AB played against Kolkata in Chennai. He got 60 or 70 maybe off 30 odd balls and played unbelievably. He was hitting (Varun) Chakaravarthi off the back foot over cover and it was unbelievable to watch. And he came into the changing room and he was angry with himself, didn’t feel like he batted his best or something along those lines,” Finn said.
“I couldn’t believe someone could play as well as he did and not be happy. So that sort of helped shift my mindset as well because I think always searching for perfection in a perfect game is such a difficult thing. Even watching the best in the world do it and be unhappy with, you know, a really good game, it was pretty eye-opening,” he added.
ALSO READ:
Allen was picked by RCB in the IPL 2022 season for INR 80 lakhs and was retained for the following season as well. However, he did not get any opportunity to play.
Currently, he is playing in the T20 World Cup 2026, representing New Zealand, where he has scored 160 runs in five innings at an average of 40.00 and an impressive strike rate of 177.77.
Last year, he scored 960 runs in 33 innings at a brilliant strike rate of 199.58, which is why KKR picked him in the auction. Now, after being bought for INR 2 crore in the IPL 2026 auction and considering his current form, he is likely to make his debut in the Indian Premier League upcoming season.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
