Usain Bolt idolised Sachin Tendulkar

Champion sprinter Usain Bolt yearned to be a top class cricketer and always idolized Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and West Indian skipper Chris Gayle, a newspaper reported here on Thursday.

"When I was young, I had taken up cricket but my coach decided that I was better off in track and field and hence took up athletics," Bolt was quoted as having said by the Hindi ‘Dainik Jagran’ newspaper.

Apart from Tendulkar and Gayle, the Jamaican has also been a fan of Aussie cricketers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, the newspaper reported.

Bolt, who broke three world records at the Beijing Olympics, also believes he could have been a famous pace bowler like compatriots Malcom Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner had he pursued cricket.