MotoGP Bharat 2023: Altogether different innings for MotoGP elites in Noida | Noida News

NOIDA:Italy ranks 30 in the latest ICC T20 rankings, but Francesco Bagnaia knows how to play a mean backfoot drive. Before he sets the clock on fire when he blazes down the race track of the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) this weekend for the inaugural edition of MotoGP Bharat, the defending champion and current world championship leader showed off another dimension to his timing – deft and exquisite – with a cricket bat in hand.
The bowler was former India cricketer Suresh Raina, the pitch hard asphalt and the wickets a set of plastic stumps in a short ‘gully cricket’ experience that introduced the world’s elite pack of bike racers to India. “I am very competitive, but it was really fun. In India, cricket is THE sport and it was a lovely experience for us,” Bagnaia said.
Altogether different innings for MotoGP elites in Noida
F abio Quartararo, Luca Marini and Pol Espargaro also got a chance to test out their cricketing skills. Not quite the adrenaline rush they are used to, and perhaps why Quartararo and Marini looked awkward both with bat and ball. Unlike Bagnaia, it was clear Marini wouldn’t come close to making it to the Italian cricket team. And Quartararo, a Frenchman, may consider brushing up his cricketing skills should he want to lift France from 52 in the ICC T20 rankings. “I took a close look at the track and it looked beautiful. Good I didn’t damage it with the bat!” joked Quartararo, summing up the sunny mood among the racers as India hosts its first elite GP for the first time in a decade since Formula One packed up.
Indian rider Kadai Yaseen Ahamed, who will be participating in the Moto3 class over the weekend, also joined the top riders and gave his share of wisdom to the cricketing newbies. In the morning, another group of riders got a taste of Indian culture when they participated in a flash mob on the track. Marco Bezzecchi, Jack Miller, Aleix Espargaro, Jorge Martin and Alex Marquez were joined by 30 local dancers as the group danced to the tunes of the Oscar-winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ and some other popular foot-tapping tracks. After their performance, Alex, the younger brother of six-time premier class world champion Marc Marquez, quipped, “I know this song. It won the Oscar. I love it.” “I am really happy to come to India, and excited for the race,” he added. The curly-haired Bezzecchi was effervescent during and after the dance. “It was a fantastic experience. I loved doing that leg shuffle when ‘Naatu Naatu’ was being played,” Bezzecchi said. “It was a great show of India’s ethos and culture,” Miller added.