Indian Premier League 2020: AB de Villiers finds a lot of similarities in Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Josh Philippe

The 23-year-old Australian, Josh Philippe, is a highly rated wicketkeeper batsman and played a vital role in Sydney Sixers title win in BBL 2019-20

In an interview posted on Royal Challengers Bangalore’s ( RCB) official Twitter handle, South-African batsman AB de Villiers has said that he sees a lot of similarities between himself and fellow RCB teammate Josh Philippe, who will join the squad in UAE after the conclusion of the ongoing ODI series between England and Australia.

Showering special praise on Josh Philippe, De Villiers said “I am so much looking forward to connect with him. I see a lot of similarities in the way he plays to when I was younger, also a wicket-keeper batsman.”

“I am very excited about Josh. I watched him play for Sydney ( sixers) in the BBL.  He’s very exciting to watch. He takes the new ball on and he is a very talented player with all the shots in the book. I have heard Adam Gilchrist say very good things about him as well and I can’t wait to work with him.”

Australian Philippe is a highly-rated wicketkeeper batsman and was bought by RCB in the 2019 IPL auction for his base price of Rs 20 lakhs. The 23-year-old Philippe is considered a bright prospect for the national team in the coming years especially in the white-ball format. Much like De Villiers, Philippe is known for scoring across all parts of the ground, being widely recognised for his 360-range of shots.

The right-hand opening batsman, Philippe, was one of the brightest stars for Sydney Sixers in the 2019 Big Bash League (BBL) and was the man of the match in the final of the tournament, taking his side to their second BBL crown. He scored 487 runs in 16 matches with an average of 37.46 and a strike-rate of 129.87.

As a result of his starry performances, Philippe booked his place in the Australian squad for their ongoing limited-overs tour of Australia. Although still uncapped for the national team, it’s only a matter of time before the youngster makes his mark in international cricket.

With veteran Parthiv Patel already plying his trade as the side’s wicketkeeper-batsman and a limited number of overseas players allowed in the playing eleven, it remains to be seen whether Philippe can get a significant number of matches under his belt and cement his place in the strong RCB squad.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on SunRisers Hyderabad in their opening match of the tournament on September 21.