The Red Army of Manchester have established themselves as one of English Premier League’s dominant force by bagging 20 league titles. Over the years, we have seen many cricketers publicly announcing their loyal support and backing their beloved club. Rohan Sengupta mentions a few cricketers.
1. Sourav Ganguly
Despite the fact of spanning an excellent career in cricket, the former Indian skipper’s proficiency in the field of football is not a new thing. The co-owner of the inaugural ISL champions Atletico de Kolkata, Ganguly is also a big Manchester United fan. When the Indian cricket team toured England in 2007, Dada spent his leisure time attending Manchester United matches and cheering them. When asked in an interview about his favourite team, ‘Dada’ didn’t hesitate to name Manchester United with David Beckham his favourite Old Trafford figure.
2. MS Dhoni
The Indian captain is an avid football follower and supports the red half of Manchester. Being a goalkeeper in his early days, his love for football is not a surprise. Dhoni was also named the ambassador of the ‘Barclays Premiere League’ in India and has stated his loyalty for Manchester United in several interviews.
3. Mahela Jayawardene
The Sri Lankan veteran is a huge Manchester United fan and expresses his support through tweets. It was the semi-finals of the World Cup and in a post-match interview that Mahela spoke about his tension for the tea, when they were up against Milan AC in Champions League. But to his dismay, Sri Lanka had lost the World Cup 2007 final to Australia and United were also eliminated later, despite their win over AC Milan.
4. Ajit Agarkar
The Mumbai speedster enjoys watching football and supports Manchester United wholeheartedly. He is often seen posting pictures and tweets in social media sites which are mainly related to Manchester United and its triumphs.
5. Eoin Morgan
The England ODI skipper is a Manchester United fan since the age of 10. He hails George Best as the best player in Manchester United colours.
6. Yuvraj Singh
The Indian southpaw is a football enthusiast with Manchester United being his favourite club. Yuvraj praises Manchester United and had travelled to Wembley with fellow countrymen Sunil Gavaskar, Rohan Gavaskar and Zaheer Khan to watch the Community Shield match between Manchester United and Wigan Athletic. Fortunately, it was a good trip for Yuvraj and his fellows at Wembley as United had won the shield through Robin Van Persie’s goals.
7. Geoffrey Boycott
The cricketer-turned commentator is an ardent Red Devil supporter. In an interview, Boycott didn’t hesitate to mention his sporting passion for Manchester United. The English opener started supporting the Old Trafford team since the age of 16 and visits the stadium thrice a season.
8. Rohan Gavaskar
Back in 2007, Rohan Gavaskar and his friends from Ashok Piramal Group came together to form a club in I-league called as ‘Pune FC’. Since then the former Bengal Ranji Trophy captain has become a key football administrator. The junior Gavaskar’s loyalty lies with Manchester United unlike his dad, who supports Arsenal. He was also present with his dad and Yuvraj at Wembley Stadium when United clinched the only silverware under manager David Moyes.
9. Chris Gayle
Undoubtedly the ‘Big Jamaican’ is one of the dangerous batsmen of modern day cricket. But to everyone’s surprise, Gayle spoke about his fondness for football if he wouldn’t have been a cricketer. Gayle showed his glimpse of explosiveness in the cash-laden IPL while playing for RCB.
11. Ronnie Irani
The Lancashire born all-rounder started watching Manchester United matches by travelling to Old Trafford from the age of six with his dad Jimmy, who is also a staunch Manchester supporter. Ronnie keeps in touch by watching MUTV and seldom watches matches in London. The English medium-pacer believes French star Eric Cantona to be a catalyst in taking United to a different level and also knows former Manchester United skipper Gary Neville since junior cricketing days.
(Rohan Sengupta is a sports freak who loves writing on cricket and football. A die-hard Manchester United and CR7 fan, you can follow him on @GarryDevilDada)
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