Cricket is religion in India, states Carlos Brathwaite

Known as a useful medium-pacer who can give the ball a tonk, Carlos Brathwaite, for a vast majority of his young career, was seen as nothing more than a utility player, but his life turned around when he hit four sixes off Ben Stokes in the World T20 final to clinch West Indies the title. The all-rounder was snapped up by the Delhi Capitals franchise in the IPL auction well before his WT20 heroics, but his stocks skyrocketed post the final and soon every fan wanted a piece of Brathwaite, who was in the front page of the newspapers right before the start of IPL 2016.

Speaking on Instagram, the all-rounder recalled how he got the same reception in India as Chirs Gayle, on arriving the country before the IPL 2016, and stated how he felt Cricket is a religion in the country. 

"Cricket is religion in India. I remember I was filming Chris (Gayle) being mobbed at the airport. But after the World Cup when I came to play for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), the same thing was happening to me,” said Brathwaite on Instagram while chatting on a Delhi-NCR based pet channel, reported Times of India.

Brathwaite has since represented both Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and has gone on to captain the West Indies national team in T20Is, but has struggled to match his heroics from the WT20 2016 final, something that has seen his stocks drop over the past 18 months or so.