{"id":263,"date":"2025-12-18T11:33:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T11:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/?post_type=news&#038;p=263"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:26:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:56:06","slug":"kuldeep-yadav-renuka-singh-join-messi","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/news\/kuldeep-yadav-renuka-singh-join-messi\/","title":{"rendered":"Kuldeep Yadav, Renuka Singh Join Messi in Crossover Shoot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Indian cricket stars Kuldeep Yadav and Renuka Singh Thakur recently shared the spotlight with football legend Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul during the GOAT India Tour.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kuldeep Yadav, Renuka Singh join Messi in a unique crossover moment as the duo teamed up with the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner for a promotional photoshoot with a top global sports brand, blending the worlds of cricket and football in a memorable collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kuldeep, a well-known football fan, was all smiles during the shoot. Although he supports Liverpool, he has often spoken about his admiration for Kevin De Bruyne, calling the Manchester City star his favourite.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meeting Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, was clearly a dream come true for the left-arm spinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the cricket field, Kuldeep has been in excellent form. He was the top wicket-taker in India\u2019s recent <a href=\"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/series\">ODI series<\/a>, claiming nine wickets to help the team win 2-1. He has also contributed to the ongoing T20I series and picked up eight wickets in the recent Test series against South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Renuka Singh Thakur has been named in the India Women\u2019s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka Women, with games scheduled in Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Messi\u2019s GOAT India Tour included stops in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, concluding with a visit to Vantara, an animal rescue and conservation centre run by Anant Ambani in Jamnagar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the tour, Messi took part in traditional rituals, wildlife conservation activities, and connected with local communities, making the trip both exciting and meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This unique crossover of cricket and football icons not only thrilled fans but also highlighted India\u2019s growing presence on the global sports stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":264,"template":"","tags":[183,182],"ppma_author":[488],"class_list":["post-263","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cricket-meets-football-messi","tag-kuldeep-renuka-join-messi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}