AB de Villiers wows wheelchair cricketers in Mumbai

How tough must it be for anyone to play some of the shots AB de Villiers, the original Mr 360-degree, played in his prime? Now put that person in a wheelchair - it gets that much tougher to drive the ball over the covers or play a reverse scoop, doesn't it, without the advantage of footwork and much else? Well, not for AB.

He was out with the Mumbai Wheelchair cricket team at Islam Gymkhana in Marine Lines as part of the Project Mumbai Initiative, and had a go with the bat, while seated in a wheelchair. Didn't seem to affect his bat swing at all, as he slammed the ball over the covers, much to the joy of the crowd present.

The crowd must have wanted more, so de Villiers brought out a couple of reverse scoops too and, again, didn't seem to find the restrictions of the wheelchair a bother, connecting with the rubber-core ball sweetly. He also did well rolling the wheelchair across the pitch for a quick single on occasion.

He later also joined the organisers in painting a wall at the premises.

Understandably, de Villiers has been following IPL 2025 and the run of his former team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) closely. RCB are in the final, and de Villiers had a lot to say about his old mate Virat Kohli the other day.

"I can't help but think of my last years playing cricket, not to say that he's only got a couple of years left," de Villiers, now 41, said of Kohli on the IPL broadcasters. "Maybe he plays for another five [years]. But heading towards late 30s, I've got to just say that I've got so much respect for the amount of energy he's still showing, the care, the will to win another trophy, that deep desire."