Everybody is waiting for the most awaited and important clash of Champions Trophy 2017 i.e, India and South Africa today. This is a must-win game for both the teams as the cricketing fans from their respective countries are eagerly waiting for their home teams to get into the semi-finals.

At this stage of the Champions Trophy, losing is just not an option. But amid all the tension, AB de Villiers has shown a prime example of camaraderie. He called the Indian captain Virat Kohli a “good guy with a good heart“.

“My take on him (Kohli) is quite simple, really. He’s a world-class player. I know him really well. We’ve played together quite a few years at Bangalore. I respect him even more off the field. Just a good guy with a good heart. I love the way he plays cricket,” one of the modern day greats was grace personified during his praise of a contemporary.

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“He is very competitive. He always likes to come out on top. That’s the kind of approach that I also have with my cricket. I like to compete and try and contribute in order for the team to win. He is a top-class player. He is difficult to stop when he gets going,” de Villiers added.

The South Africa skipper insisted that his plans were in place, which was to unsettle Kohli early in his innings.

“So our plans will be around trying to unsettle him early on in his innings, like any other world-class batter, really. If you don’t get them out early, they can do some damage. He just does it really well when he gets going. He can really hurt you, hurt your bowling attack and take the game away from you,” he insisted.

De Villiers made it clear that he was expecting Ashwin to play on Sunday considering there were three left-handers in the lineup.

“It depends on the conditions, really. I will be expecting to see him in the team tomorrow, so we are preparing to see him in the side. If it doesn’t happen, then so be it.“

He sidestepped a query on whether Proteas love playing against Ashwin or not.

“I can’t say if we prefer playing against him or not. He is a great bowler. He has taken many wickets in the past and he has had success against us as well, in India. But that’s up for them to decide. If he is in the team, we will try our best to play well against him.”