NEW DELHI: Usain Bolt, the iconic sprint king, boasts a fervent passion for cricket. Ever since his playful moment of taking Chris Gayle's wicket in a friendly match years ago, Bolt's affinity for the sport has been undeniable.
Now, with the upcoming T20 World Cup set to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA, Bolt has been bestowed with the prestigious title of official ambassador for the event.
Recently, the ICC delighted fans with a humorous video circulating on social media. In this delightful clip, Bolt finds himself facing a lighthearted challenge from none other than Gayle himself—a showdown in a 100m race. The playful banter between these two sporting giants adds an extra layer of excitement to the upcoming cricket extravaganza.
"Till this day, he’s still afraid of me. Doesn’t want to see me on a 100m track," Gayle said in the video.
"Of course I’m a sprinter. All Usain Bolt will be seeing is a lot of dust and the Universe Boss just going down the stretch," Gayle further said.
Later, Bolt playfully trolled Gayle with his characteristic charm and wit, “We all know Chris can’t run. We have seen him. We know Chris doesn’t do quick singles or anything. We’re not worried about Chris.”
With a playful smirk, Gayle counters Bolt's banter by labelling his statement as a 'lie', retorting, "That’s a big lie. I run a lot of ones, twos, threes, you name it… sometimes even fours. So Bolt, get your running spikes ready. And if you want to bring any other athlete along, you know, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, anybody. Somebody gonna come fourth. And it’s not me!"
Reflecting on their past encounter on the cricket field, Gayle reminisced about the memorable moment when he faced off against Bolt.
"After the bouncer I said to myself, it’s a fun game. What am I doing? So I start smashing him. Hit him for one or two sixes and probably for a few fours. Then, eventually, I get an inside edge onto the stumps," he said.
Bolt's ambitions extend beyond just his love for cricket. Leveraging his immense popularity, particularly in the USA, he aims to propel the T20 World Cup into the limelight on American soil. His illustrious track record as an Olympic legend, clinching three consecutive gold medals from 2008 to 2016, has firmly etched his name into the annals of sporting history.
English (US) ·