Brett Lee says he's a big IPL fan

Brett Lee

Brett Lee, who went unsold in this years IPL auctions said that he is a great fan of Indian Premier League.

“I am an immense fan of the IPL, it is improving cricket.”

“Look, the West Indies discovered Curtly Ambrose while he was bowling in beach cricket so new talent can be found. That’s where the IPL might can come in handy for the selectors. They can look at the bowlers who can bowl fast,” Lee said.

When asked about being unsold in the IPL auction, Brett Lee laughed and said - “I wanted to give it a crack and see how it goes but look, I am not getting any younger. At 37, I have had more comebacks than Rambo.”

He said that he preferred 50 over cricket more than Twenty20, but he like both.

“I still like 50-over cricket a lot. Twenty20 and IPL can be touch and go but in 50-over cricket, you can fight back. But T20 has improved batsmen,” he said.

When asked about India’s chances in the 2015 World Cup, he said - “I think you have to look at the wicket you are playing at. Most teams which tour Australia want to have a strong pace attack. If India have good fast bowlers, they have a good chance of making the semifinals and finals,” he said.

When asked about the lack of good pace bowlers from India, he said that it is mainly because of the unsupportive pitches in India and also because of the lack of role models who can inspire youngsters.

“A number of different things are there when you play in India. It is hard to run in full steam everytime over here. The conditions here are very different from the ones we play in. It is hard to bowl fast in the muggy conditions here. It hurts to bowl fast in India, it is hard. India have to prepare wickets where bowlers are encouraged to bowl fast,” he explained.

“India are looking for a youngster to put his hand up…Trends around the world also show that a role model is needed. When a Sachin Tendulkar started, everybody wanted to be a batsman like him. When Dennis Lillee was playing, everybody wanted to be like him,” Lee said.

“So, it is important to have role models, someone these youngsters can look upto, someone who can get the youngsters to run in and bowl fast,” he added.

When asked the Indians are playing too much of cricket, Lee agreed: “It’s like England, they are also playing too much cricket. Over there, it’s lot of county cricket. As a fast bowler, it is difficult to pull yourself back to bowl fast all the time in such a scenario.”