Olympic Champion Yohan Blake Eager To Play For KKR, RCB In IPL

A lucrative IPL contract is a dream for any cricketer. Not only the money is great in the IPL but the league also gives the player the opportunity to rub shoulders with the best players from around the world. And the IPL seems to have attracted Jamaica’s Olympic Champion Yohan Blake too. The sprint star is currently in Mumbai to promote the Road Safety World Series, a T20 series to be held in February next year.

The cricket event is likely to feature retired cricket greats like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. The World Series will be an annual T20 tournament played between retired cricketers from five countries – Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and India.

There are a host of big names who will feature in the tournament alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag and Lara. Some of the players are Australian Brett Lee, Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan and South Africa’s Jonty Rhodes. The much-awaited tournament will take place from February 2 to February 16 next year across India.

Yohan Blake interested in playing for two IPL teams:

Yohan Blake, who has won two Olympic gold and two silver medals, expressed his desire to ply his trade in the IPL after retiring from athletics. He, however, has no intention to play for the West Indies and is more interested in playing franchise cricket. The 29-year old said he would love to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

“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.

“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,” added Blake.

He also revealed he had received an offer from Caribbean Premier League team Jamaica Tallawahs this year but refused it due to lack of time.

“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,” explained Blake.

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