Ageless Hogg gets into IPL mode : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Ageless Hogg gets into IPL mode

PERTH: “How do you pronounce Narine, mate?” says Brad Hogg, the Australian allrounder who’s going to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

Ageless Hogg gets into IPL mode

Brad Hogg is looking forward to IPL-8. PHOTO: Rohit Mahajan



Rohit Mahajan

Perth, February 27

“How do you pronounce Narine, mate?” says Brad Hogg, the Australian allrounder who’s going to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. “What gift should I take for Shahrukh?”

There are a one-hundred-three thousand reasons that Hogg should learn to pronounce “Narine” and pick up a gift for Shahrukh Khan, part-owner of the Kolkata team. Hogg was bought by KKR for Rs 50 lakh, which is roughly A$103,000.

Hogg will play alongside Sunil Narine of the West Indies in the IPL. Hogg is excited about the IPL. “I want to go out and get to know the city,” he says of Kolkata. “I don’t want to just stay in the hotel rooms, I want to go out, meet the people.”

Hogg is a pleasant and friendly man, and he grins very easily. He’s living out an amazing dream. He’s from the generation of people who’ve pushed the boundaries of middle-age back. Just a generation back, middle-age could be said to start at 40-45 years of age. It would be fair to say that fitter people of Hogg’s generation, and the increasing life-spans, have pushed that figure to 45-50.

But in sport, with the exception of golf, 44 is positively ancient. Hogg turned 44 just 21 days ago. Yet he’s playing on and on. In his last Twenty20 game, playing for the Perth Scorchers, he took 1/25 off his four overs against Sydney Sixers. This was the final of the Big Bash league, and Hogg’s performance was important in Perth’s victory. This happened just a week before his 44th birthday.

During that match, Hogg had revealed that KKR were keen to buy him for the IPL. That earned him a mild censure from KKR. Putting this information could have piqued the interest of the other teams in the bidding — this could have led KKR paying more for him than they’d originally planned.

Hogg didn’t mind the censure — he said after being bought: “They were a little bit disappointed I opened my mouth, which is fair enough. I got a little bit too excited. I was nervous. I was a bit surprised, but very glad they went through with it.”

No one criticizes one’s own employer.

Hogg makes his living from the Twenty20 format, but he does think that the massacre of the bowlers in T20 and ODIs is not really such a lovely sight. Are all the changes good for cricket? “Look, it’s disappointing because bowling is a great aspect of the game,” he says. “To me, batting is great. I always wanted to be a batter, and I also wanted to bowl… When you’ve got the ball in your hand, you can also really celebrate, enjoy yourself, show your own personality to the world.”

Hogg says that most of the greatest characters in the sport were all bowers -- he names Ian Botham and Merv Hughes and Dennis Lillee as an example. He says that it would be a pity if the bowlers were to become endangered. “It’s important to have those characters in the game,” he says of the bowlers. “Not just the batsmen who average 50-60.”

In India in the IPL, Hogg knows that he’s going to face a massive challenge. In the Big Bash League, his economy was 5.33, the best by a regular bowler in the tournament. He has a hundred thousand reasons to remain motivated.

As has Timothy Walker, a 19-year-old spinner in Perth’s local leagues. Walker wants to become a journalist and says that covering the IPL would be a wonderful experience. He’s motivated to do well as a player, too, because of Hogg. “He sold for over a hundred thousand dollars to play in the IPL!” marvels Walker. “That’s amazing… I’d like to pick up my game and get there! That much money for six weeks of Twenty20 cricket!”

Exactly. For a professional cricketer, bottomline is the key, even if for a bowler, playing T20 in India is being a lamb to slaughter.

Top News

Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in UP's Banda orders judicial inquiry into death of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari

UP court orders judicial probe into Mukhtar Ansari’s death

The CJM has sought the probe report within a month

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh IT notice of Rs 1,700 crore, say party insiders

Cash-strapped Congress gets fresh I-T notice of Rs 1,800 crore

Ajay Maken addresses a press conference

Special court convicts 7 people in BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case

Special court convicts 7 people in BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case

The proceedings against Atiq Ahmad, his brother and prime ac...

Arvind Kejriwal's wife releases WhatsApp number for people to send messages for jailed AAP leader

Arvind Kejriwal's wife launches WhatsApp campaign to garner support for AAP leader

In a digital media briefing, Sunita says her husband has cha...


Cities

View All