Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
Meet the other Big B
|
Brett Lee is at ease with Indian food and looks forward to an innings in Bollywood
|
If you look at the sky you might achieve something, but if you look down you are nowhere
SPEED MERCHANT: Brett Lee loves things Indian and a hot cup of tea Photo: Sandeep Saxena
The Timex brand ambassador is running ahead of time. Indeed it is exhilarating to keep pace with the man who says, "There are a lot of people in the fast lane, but I want to be at the head of the queue."
He is, of course, referring to his rivalry with Shoaib Akhtar and the emerging threat of Shaun Tait. It is refreshing too to find Brett Lee, often unfairly called the "most glamorous 12th man in international cricket", say nice things about his mates. Not for him the airs of many Indian cricketers.
Life, for him, is no exercise in extravagance. Nor is politeness to be mistaken for weakness.
"I want to make the number eight slot my own in Test matches. I am working on my batting. If somebody has to capture that spot sooner than later, why not me? My cricket is about speed. I got unlucky with some injuries. I got hurt at the wrong time. It has been a tough 16 months away from Test cricket. My ambition now is to be a full-time regular in the playing XI. I have worked hard on my body. I have to chin up and look ahead. If you look at the sky you might achieve something, but if you look down you are nowhere."
"India is like my second home. Thanks to Timex I have come here some 15 times already. Indians look at their sports passionately. I love the culture and consider it an honour to be representing an international brand in India many thousand miles away from home," he says, ready with his lines on the brand he has been promoting for a while now.
His love for things Indian, language and food, continues. "I intend to open an Indian restaurant soon. I cannot claim to cook like Matthew Hayden, but I definitely love Indian food, and to me it is a sound business idea to open an Indian speciality restaurant."
That is, by the way, just a sidelight of Lee's ongoing love affair with our nation. He probably gets more followers here than back home. Even as he is having lunch at his handpicked hotel, a couple of girls walk up for an autograph. Barely have they retreated, happy with the scrawl of a rare fast bowler who smiles lavishly, than a couple of other guests extend their book. Unflustered, he continues, "See, that is what I like about India. Now I want to work in Bollywood. I would particularly like to act with Mr. Bachchan whom I met the other day. He is a great guy, and I like Kareena Kapoor too. She is a good actress. I love listening to Bollywood numbers, though I don't understand much of the meaning. I am fond of `Kab Mile Kisko... It's the Time To Disco'."
Talking of music, Lee should know a thing or two. He has his own band with his brother Shane, who played close to 50 one-dayers for Australia. "The Brett Lee on TV is an athlete, an entertainer, but that is a minor part of me. I love fashion. I love music. I have my own band, my own album too. Cricket has given me recognition and an opportunity to do different things. I am lucky that I am accepted at so many places. I would like to use that by helping out with charity. I plan to follow Steve's (Waugh) footsteps. I want to help the underprivileged and cancer patients. I am lucky I can do that. It makes me feel good."
The main course disappears almost as fast as Lee's fast and furious balls bowled to helpless batsmen from a mere 22 yards. The staff wants to serve dessert. But the man who arrived in a hurry is in a hurry to depart too. One overview of the restaurant and he concludes, "The food here is better than okay. It is a fantastic place, with great food, great people."
Ashes next
Nobody says `Jaldi karo', something Lee says with relish to opposing batsmen. Instead it is time to bid adieu to the Timex man, who is now headed to England for the Ashes, a skin rash notwithstanding. "That should be good fun. Our guys are in fine form. The England bunch is better than they have been for some time."
Here is hoping he is part of the all-conquering combination.
ZIYA US SALAM
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Pondicherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
