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AB de Villiers spent time with Mumbai's wheelchair cricket team, played with them, and participated in Project Mumbai's SATRANG initiative. He visited a municipal school and helped paint classrooms.
Former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting legend AB de Villiers had spent some time with the Mumbai wheelchair cricket team at the Islam Gymkhana in Mumbai’s Marine Lines on Saturday, May 31.
AB de Villiers is in the City of Dreams as part of an initiative, ‘Project Mumbai’, and will spend an entire day in Mumbai in order to ignite the spirit of civic engagement. As Project Mumbai’s Brand Champion, the legendary South African batter will be volunteering in the city for a day, connecting with wheelchair cricketers at the well-known Islam Gymkhana and visiting a Municipal school in Malabar Hill.
AB de Villiers, who amassed 19864 runs in 415 matches for South Africa from 2004 to 2018, visited Mumbai as part of Project Mumbai’s SATRANG program, which is an initiative to promote civic engagement through community participation and public space enhancement.
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AB de Villiers delights Mumbai wheelchair cricketers
Being Project Mumbai’s Brand Champion, the South African batting legend made his visit to the Islam Gymkhana, where the Mumbai wheelchair cricket team was having a practice session. In the morning, AB de Villiers shared a special moment with the wheelchair cricketers.
The former right-handed batter had only interacted with them, but also tried his hand at wheelchair cricket. In a video posted by Press Trust of India (PTI), de Villiers can be seen fully immersed in the experience of playing wheelchair cricket with the Mumbai team at one of the iconic gymkhanas in the city. AB de Villiers played a few delightful strokes and also ran between the wickets using a wheelchair, drawing cheers and applause from the cricketers and onlookers alike for his wholehearted participation and humility.
Thereafter, AB de Villiers headed to BMC Municipal School in Malabar Hill, where he took the paintbrush and helped transform the classrooms by painting walls alongside students and volunteers, spreading joy and colour as part of the SATRANG initiative under Project Mumbai. He also spent time with underprivileged students in a paperbag-making workshop at the Centre For The Study of Social Change (CSSC) in Bandra.
‘Mumbai has given me so much love over the years’: de Villiers
Speaking on the sidelines of his visit to Mumbai as a part of the Project Mumbai initiative, AB de Villiers stated that it was his duty to give back to the city that gave him so much love and admiration throughout his playing career.
“Mumbai has given me so much love over the years. Today, I wanted to give back not as a cricketer, but as a volunteer. There’s something truly powerful about working with others to make spaces better for children, for families, and for this incredible city," former South African batter said.
Meanwhile, AB de Villiers is likely to be in attendance for the IPL 2025 final after Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified for the title clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The former RCB batter promised himself that he would be in the stands to cheer for the team if they made it to the final, and with their qualification for the title clash secured, de Villiers is all set to witness what could be a historic moment for the franchise he holds close to his heart.
