Thiruvananthapuram: Former Australian cricketer Brett Lee is all praise for Indian captain Virat Kohli who has become a sensation on tour down under.
He was speaking to Deccan Chronicle on the sidelines of his global ambassador role with 'Cochlear'. He compared Kohli to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.
The 42-year-old ‘Binga’ who had retired from international cricket in 2015 is these days busy with his commentator role with Fox Sports in Australia.
By next week, he would be heading home to don the role of the commentator in the India – Australia four test series where the first test would be in Adelaide.
Though the dashing right-arm fast bowler had given many a scare to leading batsmen of all cricket playing countries, currently he is travelling through a “slow – pitch” educating people on the early intervention in children to detect hearing loss to make them have cochlear implants.
Every question you pose about cricket to Lee, he would manoeuvre to his pet peeve as the role of the global ambassador. But the moment a question was raised on Kohli, his face lit up like anything.
“Kohli is loved, not only here in India, but he is loved all over the world. He is a fierce competitor on the field, and off the field, he is a gentleman like Sachin. He would go as one of the world’s batsman, I promise that”, said Lee who was a tad bit disappointed to leave for New Delhi from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening.
Even though this New South Wales cricketer is on tour to India, he has been keeping track on the recently concluded T20I series.
When asked about the massive crowd support the Indian cricket team had been receiving thro-ugh their ongoing Austr-alian trip, he quipped, “I am half Indian, and I love the country and its culture. Several Indians have migrated to Australia. In fact, we love them coming to down under. When they come to my country and play cricket, they wear blue. Unfortunately, I wear a green cap, but I can’t blame them”.
Despite not playing cricket these days, Lee maintains his physique so well that he can pass off as a player in the current Aussie cricket team. He says there are days when he misses the hustle and bustle of India while at his home in New South Wales, where he has got a farmhouse.
“I can bring and take lots of things to India and Australia and vice versa. Sometimes it is nice to keep my phone away. I love being in my farm, where there are no neighbours, and it’s just the sound of nature”, added Lee before dashing off to have lunch with Zane Wilmans, a leading South African security official-cum-filmmaker based in Mumbai.
