Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke said that his body felt 15 years younger after a nine-month break from international cricket as he is prepared to play at the HongKong T20 Blitz. The 35-year-old batsman, who retired from all forms of the game in August last year, will be a part of the four-team T20 event, which will he held over two days on May 28 and 29.
The World Cup winning captain said that his revamped diet and training regime has given him a new lease as he joins the T20 bandwagon. Clarke announced his retirement from T20 internationals in 2011 and has also not been associated with Australia's flagship T20 event, the Big Bash League.
Clarke stepped down as the captain and made his exit after last year's Ashes series following a chronic back problem, and he will be getting back on the field in less than a year to play for the Kowloon Cantons.
“I’m going to play these couple of games and see how I go, see if I enjoy it and then assess after that,” he told AFP in Hong Kong.
“Right now it’s about coming here and having some fun. If I enjoy it, I’ll assess when I get home what my exact plan will be. My body’s going really well. My body hasn’t felt this good in 15 years. Let’s hope I’m saying that on Sunday night after four games of cricket!”
Also read: Hong Kong T20 Blitz to feature cricketers from India, Australia and associate nations
It is also said that the right-hander held talks with the BBL team Sydney Sixers about playing in the glitzy tournament this season.
On being asked about the trend of ex-cricketers turning to T20 leagues, Clarke said, “I don’t think it’s new. I think of Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin — all these guys have been doing it for year,” adding that it all seems bigger to him now because of his involvement.
Encouraging such tournaments to come up around the globe, Clarke added, “I’ve always been a big fan of trying to grow the game all around the world and competitions like this sets it up nicely ... provide the foundation for it to continue to grow, get publicity get people looking. It gives boys and girls from Hong Kong the opportunity to play this great game of cricket and that’s probably my main focus of being here.”
The former New South Wales player also added that the T20 is something he hasn't focused on through his career and that he does not have any ambitions to get back to any other format of the game.
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