On Friday, one of the most well-known faces in international cricket, Chris Gayle thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending a shipment of vaccines to his home country of Jamaica, in a video shared by the Twitter handle of ANI.

Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle thanks India for sending COVID19 vaccines to Jamaica

"PM Modi, the Government of India and the people of India, I want to thank you all for your donation of the vaccine to Jamaica. We appreciate it," he says pic.twitter.com/8iSa3yhYcs

— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2021

“Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle thanks India for sending COVID19 vaccines to Jamaica "PM Modi, the Government of India and the people of India, I want to thank you all for your donation of the vaccine to Jamaica. We appreciate it," he says,” the caption read. 

In the video, Gayle says: “Honorable PM Modi, the Government of India and the people of India, I want to thank you all for your donation of the vaccine to Jamaica. We appreciate it. Thank you so much. India, I will see you soon." 

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Civil Aviation Minister, shared his joy regarding the fact that India was able to share the vaccines with the rest of the world, protecting thousands of lives and making people safer. 

Always a pleasure to watch this famous Jamaican send the ball flying to all corners of the park & delighted that #VaccineMaitri is reaching out to our friends across the world. Indian fans look forward to more from this batting genius.@henrygayle @hcikingston @PunjabKingsIPL https://t.co/O6Su7Cu53K

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) March 18, 2021

"Always a pleasure to watch this famous Jamaican send the ball flying to all corners of the park & delighted that #VaccineMaitri is reaching out to our friends across the world. Indian fans look forward to more from this batting genius," he tweeted. 

The tweet and the video were simply about Gayle, a national icon in his country, thanking those who supported his countrymen at the time of need and nothing else. 

Even then, social media converted it into a party-politics platform with some even calling Gayle a “follower of Hinduism” while others mocked PM Modi’s opposition by calling the Jamaican star “a part of the BJP IT cell”. 

Chris Gayle has always been a follower of Hinduism.. He visits the temple near my house every ipl possible🏻 pic.twitter.com/5w3qCMeDjR

— 🇮🇳🇮🇱 ravi Shetty (@ravi_shetty_Ind) March 19, 2021

Even other countries know the great work Modi ji is doing and praise him and our country.

But Pappu n his extinct party keep criticizing Modi ji for everything.

— 🕉️🇮🇳Badri#SonarBangla200+ (@badri4BJP) March 19, 2021

Maharashtra home minister will now declare Chris Gayle a BJP IT cell member and state intelligence agencies will probe whether Gayle made this video under pressure by the Centre.

— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) March 19, 2021

Ab Gayle bhi bhakt, sanghi kehlayega

— Mohil Malhotra🇮🇳मोहिल मल्होत्रा (@TheMohil8) March 19, 2021 

Earlier this month, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness had also acknowledged India’s help when he has said: “I am extremely pleased to report that yesterday afternoon, we received our first shipment of 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Government of India. We express our deep appreciation to the Government and people of India for this very much-needed support." 

This also isn’t the first time that an international cricketer has thanked the Indian government for the support provided to another country to combat the coronavirus.  

Kevin Pietersen had also tweeted about India’s “generosity and kindness” after Indian vaccines reached South Africa in February 2021. 

In it together.
Made in India vaccines land in Johannesburg, South Africa. #VaccineMaitri pic.twitter.com/O9kWj6qVV9

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 1, 2021

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