“A mixture of baseball and basketball” – When Michael Phelps learned to swing a cricket bat
Michael Phelps, the 23-time Olympic gold medalist, is known for his rocket speed in swimming. However, he has also been a successful golfer.
But Phelps and cricket are uneasy to digest. However, three years ago, in 2019, when he visited India to launch the Under Armour brand, he joined IPL team Delhi Capitals at their camp.
Alongside Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, the legendary swimmer managed to swing a cricket bat. He was astonished by this sport that he had never played.
Michael Phelps expressed that it was a great experience to watch the game of cricket. He talked about cricket's similarities with other team sports like baseball and basketball.
"For me, it was just an experience because it you know trying to learn new game. For me, it was you know kind of a mixture between almost like baseball a little bit and way maybe basketball a little bit too. You know just sort of how they work together as a team and kind of a strategy of it. Also it was pretty neat to be able to really kind of dive into the sport so to say."
Michael Phelps' visit to India
In 2019, during the IPL season, Michael Phelps visited India for a two-day drip for the launch event of Under Armor. He joined the Delhi Capitals camp and learned a few tricks and trades of cricket.
Talking to The Quint, Phelps said:
"Today, being able to hit a couple of tennis balls with a, I don't know [what is it] a bat—is that what it is called? Yes, okay! Didn't want to say the wrong thing."
Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant taught the most successful Olympian how to play the game of cricket. Amused by the technicalities of India's most beloved sport, Michael Phelps drew comparisons to baseball and golf. He seemed pretty happy to play a sport he had never played before. He said:
"Being able to hit the bat with a couple of tennis balls today was fun. And it's very similar to almost a baseball swinging or golf swing. So it's kind of neat just being able to play a sport that I never played before"
Michael Phelps also attended the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings at Arun Jaitley Stadium, formerly Feroz Shah Kotla. He was astonished to see the kind of viewership cricket gets.
"This was my first time, first match I've ever seen. And just be able to kind of I mean, for me like I've always been around sports, I love sports every kind of sport. And to be able to see a sport that is played and watched by so many new million people."
Over the years, Michael Phelps has not limited himself to just swimming. He went to see and learn various other sports, such as baseball, basketball, golf, and cricket. This shows the kind of love he has for sports.
The 28-times Olympic gold medalist retired from swimming at the age of 31. He finished as the most successful Olympic athlete ever.