Jamaican track and field legend, Usain Bolt, has decided to try out cricket as a new profession and wants to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The eight-time Olympic champion has often spoken about his love for the sport of cricket and how he originally wanted to be a cricketer before his father suggested that he should focus on track and field, a wise decision looking back.
“My father is a huge cricket fan. When I got to higher secondary, I had two options-cricket or athletics. My dad said because of the system in Jamaica; it would be better to take up athletics. You just have to run fast in athletics while it’s tougher to get into the national cricket team,” said Bolt speaking during a promotional visit to India in 2014.
In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Bolt expressed his desire to be involved in the Indian Premier League at some point.
“Definitely. I will get my training on. I’ll get fit and get ready,” he said.
The 11-time World Championship gold medallist also spoke about how he got into cricket when he was younger.
“The two main sports in Jamaica at the time were football and cricket. I was a massive fan of cricket because my dad was a fan of it. He watched it every day, every chance you get, you would watch all the teams play so I grew up watching cricket,” added Bolt.
He cited Pakistani great, Waqar Younis, as one of his favorite bowlers to watch growing up.
“When I was really small, I loved the Pakistan cricket team. Waqar Younis was one of the greatest Pakistan bowlers ever, and I was a bowler, so I really enjoyed watching him. I was a big Pakistan fan until I got older when I noticed that I should actually support my home team,” said Bolt.
Gayle, de Villiers inducted to RCB hall of fame
West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle and South African batsman AB De Villiers have become the first cricketers to be inducted into the hall of fame of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The 42-year-old Gayle represented the franchise between 2011 and 2017. The batsman never won a title at the club but set a number of records while there, including the highest ever individual T20 score of 175 during the 2013 IPL season.
Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli thanked the two greats for their contribution to making the IPL what it is today. Gayle thanked the club for the special honour.
"I want to thank the RCB family for the opportunity, for everything. It's been special to me as well. And to be inducted is something fantastic, and I will always keep RCB close to my heart. I share a lot of memories with some special players and some special coaches,” Gayle said.
“It's been fantastic. I wish I were there to give this speech, look into you guys' eyes, and tell you exactly how I feel. AB mentioned it's going to be emotional because it's very touching for such a franchise that has been created over the years. It's fantastic. And to Virat, thank you for the kind words as well. Fantastic sharing the dressing room with you guys as well."
Sunrisers cling on against Mumbai Indians to stay alive in IPL play-off race
Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their Indian Premier League play-off hopes alive with a dramatic three-run win over Mumbai Indians.
Rahul Tripathi's 76 helped Sunrisers post an imposing total of 193-6 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Despite an opening partnership of 95 between Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (48) and Ishan Kishan (43), Sunrisers appeared to be coasting to victory when Rohit's side were reduced to 144-5 in the 17th over.
But the subsequent over brought chaos as Tim David clobbered Thangarasu Natarajan (0-60) for four sixes, including three in succession.
The final ball of the over, however, saw David run out for 46 as he chased an ill-advised single.
Mumbai could not recover the initiative from there, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's excellent wicket-maiden 19th over leaving them with too much to do in the final six balls.
With one game to play, Sunrisers are among three teams two points behind fourth-placed Delhi Capitals but will need help to reach the play-offs given their negative net run rate.
Game turns on 18th over chaos
David appeared set to end Sunrisers' hopes as he punished Natarajan for a series of dismal full tosses, his fourth six of the 18th over a 114-metre blast that marked the second-longest of the tournament.
But his decision to chase the strike for the start of the 19th with a single that never looked on effectively ensured victory for Hyderabad.
Sunrisers streak stopped
A win that was too close for comfort ended a run of five straight defeats for Sunrisers, though that streak will likely still keep them out of the play-offs.
Scorpions captain Campbell in good place ahead of West Indies Championship resumption
Jamaica Scorpions captain John Campbell says he is in a good place ahead of the resumption of the West Indies Championship on Wednesday.
Campbell’s Scorpions are currently last in the standings after two rounds, with 8.8 points, and will take on the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba from May 18-21.
The West Indies Test opener will go into round three coming off some good form in the recently concluded Dream 11 Jamaica T10 tournament where he finished as the leading run-scorer, with 302 runs in 11 matches, while captaining the Middlesex United Stars to a third-place finish.
The short turnaround between formats could pose a challenge to adapt for some batsmen but Campbell insists it’s the nature of the modern game.
“In this day and age there’s a lot of cricket being played so the waiting period between formats is, oftentimes, very slim,” said Campbell in a press conference on Monday, ahead of Wednesday’s game.
“We had an opportunity to play a three-day game before we left Jamaica and I’ve had numerous net sessions with coach Coley that were centred around the longer form of the game. I’m in a good place right now,” he added.
When asked what role he could play with the bat to help turn the Scorpions’ season around, Campbell had this to say.
“For me, It’s good starts. As an opener, setting the foundation for the rest of the innings is very important and we need big totals to win games.”
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