The photograph captured the attention of Twitterati when Mallya posted it online. The two were reportedly photographed at a Formula-1 qualifying event in the UK.
“With my dear friend and Universe Boss @henrygayle,” the 63-year-old businessman wrote on Twitter.
Gayle was a member of the West Indies squad in the recently concluded Cricket World Cup 2019 in England.
Mallya, who was recently spotted at a world cup match, cornered by Indian cricket fans, and subsequently booed and subjected to chants of “Chor Chor” (thief–thief) in Hindi, now has to face the Twitterati's wrath.
While many netizens flooded the comments section of his post with chants of “Chor”, others mockingly advised Gayle to stay away from Mallya, or at least keep his money away from the beleaguered businessman.
However, Mallya remained unflinchingly unaffected by the tonnes of hateful comments on his post, and shot back at trolls, labelling those that called him a thief 'losers'.
Mallya, who was once a leading liquor baron in India, has been residing in the UK since 2016 and is presently facing extradition proceedings in the country, after allegedly defaulting on loans amounting to Rs 9,000 crore ($1.28 billion).
The Indian economic intelligence agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) has declared him a "fugitive economic offender" and has opened a case on the grounds of the Special Prevention of Money-Laundering Act of the Indian Parliament.