Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt fulfilled his desire of becoming a footballer after retirement from the sport. The legendary athlete who eight Olympic gold medals in his career, trained alongside Borussia Dortmund after retirement and then went on to play for Australian club Central Coast Mariners. Now, it seems, another Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake is interested in pursuing other sports after he takes retirement from his original sport.
Blake, who was in India earlier this week to promote Road Safety World Series, a T20 league that will see some of the retired international stars from all across the world step on to the field, told reporters he is interested in pursuing cricket.
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But, the Jamaican is not interested in playing for West Indies. He is lured towards the glamour of IPL. “I have two more years left in track and field and then its cricket for me. But, I do not wish to play for the West Indies. I would love to feature in franchise cricket; I would even love to own a franchise in India. And most importantly, play for either Kolkata Knight Riders or the Royal Challengers Bangalore,” he was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.
Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, along with Chris Gayle, are some of Blake’s cricketing heroes. “Chris Gayle [fellow Jamaican] was there for a long time. I love the Bangalore team especially Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Also, the Kolkata team, because Gayle has played for them too,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, along with Chris Gayle, are some of Blake’s cricketing heroes. “Chris Gayle [fellow Jamaican] was there for a long time. I love the Bangalore team especially Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Also, the Kolkata team, because Gayle has played for them too,” he said.
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Incidentally, the sprinter had rejected an offer from Caribbean Premier League recently when he was approached by franchise Jamaica Tallawahs to display his talent. “Yeah, I got an offer from the Jamaica Tallawahs this year, but I could not take it up because I was focusing on training for the World Championships [Doha], the Olympics coming up and World Championships again [March 2020 in Nanjing, China]. It’s a bit tough for me,” he explained his reasons.
Will IPL ever see the talents of Yohan Blake in the future? Well, he certainly would incite a bidding war at the auctions if he ever gets a chance to be included in the auction pool.