‘Time to put the glue away’ – Puma responds to Zimbabwe cricketer Ryan Burl’s emotional plea for a sponsor

‘Time to put the glue away’ – Puma responds to Zimbabwe cricketer Ryan Burl’s emotional plea for a sponsor

Ryan Burl

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, Zimbabwe were a force to reckon on the field of cricket. With the likes of Heath Streak, Alistair Campbell, Andy and Grant Flower and Henry Olonga on their side they had the ability to shock big teams on their day. But with the retirement of the big guns, their standard of cricket has come down drastically.

In the last decade, they have won only six ODI series with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh being the only noteworthy team they have beaten. They won their last Test match in 2011 and have drawn only four while losing all others in the last decade. With a drop in the standard of their game, they are now struggling with financial woes.

Ryan Burl’s plea for a sponsor

Zimbabwe cricketer Ryan Burl‘s tweet on Sunday brought the financial woes of the players to the fore. Burl in an emotional plea to sponsors revealed that the players are not able to afford minimal equipment to represent their country. Burl said he has to glue a pair of shoes after every series due to lack of funds.

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“Any chance we can get a sponsor so we don’t have to glue our shoes back after every series,” Burl’s wrote.

His tweet went viral as fans went on to question the ICC’s system of revenue distribution among smaller countries. As fans rallied to offer help, the manufacturer of premium sports gear, PUMA came forward to offer a helping hand. “Time to put the glue away, I got you covered,” Puma Cricket replied.

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