Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. However, the sport was not included in the Paris Olympics this year. At the next Olympics, which will happen in Los Angeles in 2028, this grand sport will be a part of the grand sports tournament.
Interestingly though, there have been several athletes, who have competed at the Olympics level but they wanted to become a cricketer initially. Three of them wanted to be fast bowlers in their lives, but they chose another sport and ended up becoming a gold medalist in Olympics. Here’s a list of the three athletes.
1. Arshad Nadeem wanted to become a fast bowler in cricket
Arshad Nadeem has become the talk of the town after he won a gold medal for Pakistan in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Nadeem stunned everyone with an incredible 92.97m throw in his second attempt in the men’s javelin throw final event.
With this win, Nadeem became the first Pakistani in a long time to win a gold medal at the Olympics. It may surprise a few fans that the javelin throw star wanted to become a fast bowler and represent the Pakistan cricket team before he entered athletics.
2. Usain Bolt
Another gold medalist from the world of athletics to feature on the list is Usain Bolt from Jamaica. Known for his record running on the track, Bolt won several medals in his career, including an Olympic gold medal. The running star wanted to become a fast bowler at one point in his life.
3. Yohan Blake
Yohan Blake is the third athlete to feature on the list. Even he had interest in joining the cricket world as a fast bowler, but then, he made up his mind to enter the field of running. He went on to become a top name in athletics and won an Olympic gold medal as well.
