Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have announced they will be retiring jersey numbers of legendary cricketers AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. Both cricketers played some memorable knocks during a long association with the franchise and will also be inducted in the Hall of Fame on March 26. For the unversed, De Villiers had donned jersey number 17 while Gayle's was 333, his highest Test score.
The Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at the RCB Unbox event on the said date and at the same event, the franchise will release the team's new jersey. "Jersey numbers 17 and 333 will be retired forever as a tribute to @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle when we induct the legends of RCB into the Hall of Fame," RCB announced on their Twitter on March 17.
The news of the duo getting inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame had arrived last year only. Former skipper Virat Kohli had then shared a special message for both De Villiers and Chris Gayle. "AB has truly changed the game of cricket with his innovation, brilliance, and sportsmanship which truly defines the RCB Play Bold philosophy. It’s truly special for me to be doing this for both of you. We saw videos of how you have changed the way the IPL has been played over the years. Two people who have had a huge impact in IPL being where it is today; and RCB being where it is today," Kohli had said then.
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Virat Kohli has had some memorable time with both De Villiers and Gayle on the field. He and De Villiers registered as many as 5 century partnerships for RCB and the pair was also involved in two 200-plus stands which is a record as well. Playing for RCB, De Villiers had a mammoth strike-rate touching 152 while Chris Gayle played with RCB for a long period of time. During his time with the franchise, the Universe Boss smashed 708 runs in a single season that also included a record-breaking 175 in an innings against Pune Warriors.
