South Africa's Most Important Player at 2015 Cricket World Cup Is AB De Villiers

What can be said about AB de Villiers that has not been said before?  The short answer is: not much. But, here we are. Picking just one player who’s going to be important for South Africa seems somewhat cruel. It might sound somewhat cliched, but every player in the South African team is important. With such a wealth of talent in the team, everyone plays a crucial role.

The opening pair of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock are important, especially in tandem. Amla steadies the ship, and De Kock goes on the rampage. Sometimes they both do the same. They both serve the purpose of taking the shine off the new ball. Then there is Faf du Plessis, who is the bedrock of the innings and usually takes a more steady approach, no matter what the situation.

Then there is JP Duminy, who fills the dual role with the bat and his part-time spin. There is also Dale Steyn, who needs no introduction, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir.

Squeezed in between all of these players is De Villiers.

He gets singled out as South Africa’s most important player for a number of reasons. Since relinquishing the gloves to De Kock, South Africa has been able to take full advantage of his extraordinary fielding abilities. Aside from that, he is also instrumental as a captain. While his ability to keep up with over rates remains dubious, he does have a number of leadership lieutenants from whom he can draw inspiration from.

Then there is De Villiers’ batting. Without a doubt, he is the most talented one-day player in the world at the moment. His ability to adapt to conditions and match situations is unmatched in all formats of the game.

His ability to innovate and dream up new shots is revolutionary. The way he can single-handedly take a game away from the opposition will be crucial for South Africa. But the Proteas have to guard against not being overly reliant on their main man.

De Villiers is the only member of the squad who has played in three World Cups. This experience adds yet another element to what makes him so valuable. The man himself admits that he’s going into the tournament feeling good.

De Villiers said: "I played really good cricket in the last World Cup, and I feel confident going into this one. The boys all feel very confident."

In the 2011 World Cup, De Villiers scored 353 runs at an average of 89.25 in five matches. In the World Cup before that, he hit 372 in 10 games at an average of 37.20.

Considering his performances in World Cups and the fact that he recently hit a record-breaking hundred against the West Indies, his confidence certainly is warranted.

In South Africa’s final warm-up match before the competition kicks off on the weekend, De Villiers managed just 24 runs, but that’s hardly a problem. Considering he has not averaged below 50.00 in a calendar year in the last five years, South Africa’s captain is all set up to have one of the best tournaments of his career.

All quotes and information obtained firsthand.