Timex, Tvs, a bit of Royal Stag Mega Cricket and now New Balance. Brett Lee has been slowly increasing his brand endorsement portfolio in India. He is negotiating a deal with Videocon as well. Is the Australian speedster becoming a high-profile ‘fiery’ salesman?
“I am not sure about that tag. I have associated myself only with brands in which I believe in,” says Lee. “I do not necessarily go on a signing spree. The brands I have endorsed so far are the best in their field.” Quality first, that’s Lee for you.
Like the true professional he is on the cricket field, off it also he is with his endorsements. With Timex, he is known to influence his Australian teammates to wear watches from that brand. Is he planning to do the same with New Balance (NB) shoes? “Why not?” he shoots back. “Already Nathan Bracken (left arm seamer) is using NB shoes, Steve Waugh used to wear NB,” he says. But on a more honest note he admits, “Good brands do not require hard selling. Their quality does the job for themselves, New Balance is one of them. My job here is to create brand awareness,” says Lee. Although he has not played a single test match in India, his popularity is already up there. New Balance should easily ride on his popularity. But Lee believes his association is not that of a sponsor-celebrity relationship. “I see myself as a part of the family, and we are a family,” he insists.
A regular visitor to India, Lee has developed a special liking for the place. “Every time I come here, I lap up the experience. I have been here three-four times in the last four months or so,” he says. On a lighter note. he adds, “At the end of the trip I end up gaining a kilo or two thanks to all the butter chickens I have.” He has brushed up his his Hindi as well, gone beyond Namaste and Sukriya. “Now I know what Indian players mean when they say in Hindi that I play like a rabbit (Khargosh ki tarha khelte hain),” he quips.
Interestingly, he fancies a chance to act in Hindi films. “I would like to be in Bollywood,” he says, adding that should help him brush up his Hindi. Explaining how he developed a liking for Bollywood he says, “I was there in Singapore for the IIFA Awards. I had great fun with the likes of Priety Zinta and Big B (Amitabh Bachchan). It was also a good experience to be hanging out with upcoming Indian actors.” Lee’s affinity towards Bollywood is not surprising considering his love for music. According to him, he has already done about 300 jigs with his band Six & Out. “The best part of music, specially for a cricketer like me, is that it is a good ice-breaker. Whenever I go to the Australian Cricket Academy or the MRF Pace Foundation, singing together and strumming the guitar with new boys helped me to get closer to them.”
Yet, he makes it clear that all these activities are secondary offshoots of cricket. “The next five years I will be fully concentrating on cricket. Cricket is my life and I don’t even know what I would have been if I were not a cricketer,” he says. Pressed for an answer if he would consider cricket commentary as a career option after hanging up his boots, Lee says, “May be, who knows.”
A great athlete, but also gifted with brains which has fooled many batsmen, Lee, however, admits he has done silly things. “The silliest thing I ever did was fighting with Shoaib Akhtar at the WACA Ground a couple of years back,” he laughs. A silly thing indeed, as even batsmen across the world would like to avoid facing Akhtar’s bouncers on one of the fastest pitches in the world.
- RAJKUMAR LEISHEMBA