Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers Auction Gear To Raise Money For Coronavirus Funds

India captain Virat Kohli and former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers have put up their gear from a 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) match up for auction, with the hope of raising money for funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The match in question saw Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the erstwhile Gujarat Lions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Kohli and De Villiers were both in stunning form and the two batting maestros hit centuries as RCB smashed 248. The two batsmen shared a 229-run stand, which is the second biggest partnership in Twenty20 cricket.

The RCB duo had initially revealed their plan to auction the match gear when they had an Instagram live chat session earlier in the month.

"I'm glad to be doing this with my very dear friend @abdevilliers17," Kohli shared on Instagram on Monday, along with a photo from the match as well as photos of the gear he is giving away.

AB de Villiers had originally shared the photo along with the details for the auction, with a heartfelt post.

View this post on Instagram

Cricket has given me many incredible memories - and, among the most precious, stands the partnership with @virat.kohli , playing for RCB and against Gujarat Lions in 2016. Everything clicked on what was a truly unforgettable night at the IPL. The capacity crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium were going crazy, and we both scored centuries in a partnership of 229 runs from 96 balls. More importantly, RCB won the match by 144 runs. Now we find ourselves in a global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Virat and I would like to help people in need, people struggling to put food on the table. So we are donating some of the key items from that special day in 2016 - Virat's bat and gloves, my shirt and bat - and creating one unique auction item, on the Bid or Buy online platform(link in my bio-type key words in the search button to find the piece). All money raised will be donated to charities supporting people most severely affected by the crisis, split 50/50 between charities working in SA and India. Immediately after the auction closes on 10 May, 2020, I will personally contact the winner and make arrangements for the package to be delivered to your home. Take care and stay safe.

A post shared by AB de Villiers (@abdevilliers17) on Apr 27, 2020 at 12:28am PDT

"Cricket has given me many incredible memories - and, among the most precious, stands the partnership with @virat.kohli , playing for RCB and against Gujarat Lions in 2016," the flamboyant batsman wrote.

"Everything clicked on what was a truly unforgettable night at the IPL. The capacity crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium were going crazy, and we both scored centuries in a partnership of 229 runs from 96 balls. More importantly, RCB won the match by 144 runs," he added.

AB de Villiers had scored an unbeaten 129 off 52 deliveries while Kohli hit 109 off 55 deliveries in the match against Gujarat Lions.

"Now we find ourselves in a global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Virat and I would like to help people in need, people struggling to put food on the table," de Villiers wrote.

"So we are donating some of the key items from that special day in 2016," he wrote.

AB de Villiers revealed that Kohli was donating his bat and gloves from that match while he was giving away his shirt and bat.

With 1,396 more COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's count of coronavirus cases has reached 27,892, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

Out of the total cases, 20,835 patients are active cases and 6,185 cases have been cured, discharged, or migrated. The death toll stands at 872, with as many as 48 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.

Topics mentioned in this article

Virat Kohli AB de Villiers Cricket