Brad Hogg is the biggest prankster in the team, say KKR teammates

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team led by the temperamental Gautam Gambhir look like a no-nonsense sort of unit. But, judging them by the on-field intensity can make you a subject for a butt of jokes if you’re around them.

For instance, Jassym Lora, Andre Russell’s fiancée, says Piyush Chawla should become a stand-up comedian after he retires from cricket. The hotel room has PlayStation 4, table tennis table, drums, a few guitars among other things, making it an interesting place.

In a recent interview with Cricbuzz, four of Knight Riders’ players – Colin Munro, Chris Lynn, Shakib al Hasan and Chawla sat down and revealed some of the secrets of the teams.

Veteran chinaman Brad Hogg is the biggest prankster according to the team members.  “Definitely Hoggy (Brad Hogg). He’s up there. He’s always doing something or the other”, says Colin Munro.

Australian Chris Lynn describes Hogg’s characteristics further.

“Hoggy (Hogg) likes to think he is. He’s not that funny, let me tell you this. He just laughs at his own jokes. I think Morne is a prankster. He’s a guy that likes to fire and hides in the background. He likes to start it and wants someone to finish it. He’s the instigator.”

Shakib al Hasan also agreed with the fact, he said, “Hogg! He has to be the one.”

Piyush Chawla though had a different take. He says the poker-faced Gambhir and Narine are the pranksters in the team.

“I think most of them. Andre, Morne, Surya, Manish and myself. To add to this, I can’t say they are devilish but you know Gautam (Gambhir) and Sunil (Narine) are the ones, who are quiet but pranksters as well, says Chawla.

The cricketers also spoke about the cherished moment so far with the Knight Riders. Both Chris Lynn and Shakib al Hasan state that the championship victory in 2012 is the most cherished memory with the franchise.

Lynn says, “When we won the championship two years ago was very special. Also, after that to come back to Eden Gardens two days later and see the fans turn up, that was phenomenal. It was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. There were like 100,000 inside the stadium and equally more outside the stadium. That was the best experience I’ve ever had. At the end of the they are very passionate. If we don’t have fans, we don’t have such an entertaining atmosphere. It’s pretty simple, really!”

Shakib also agrees with Lynn. He describes the scenes after winning the trophy.

“For me, it has to be when we won the trophy in 2012. We went around in an open bus, the way fans came out. Mone hochilo, puro Kolkata’ar manush amader sathe celebrate korte bariye podeche (It felt as well the whole Kolkata was out celebrating with us). It was one of the best days in my life.

While speaking about cleanliness, Munro and Lynn state that the KKR dressing room remains cleaner their national team dressing rooms.

Munro: I’ll have to say the KKR one. We have quite a few people come and help us clean up while in New Zealand the players have to do it themselves.

Lynn: I agree. Probably the KKR one because we have more staff around here. In Australia, it’s like very dirty. The guys are pretty messy back home but it’s hard to say. Some guys like Robbie (Uthappa) like to be very structured with his cricket kit while I just throw my stuff around. There are different characters in the change room as we spoke about them.

Shakib: I think both are similar. We have quite a few players who like to mess theirs and others’ things as well. But I have to say, we manage to keep it neat and clean.

Also, Read – I wouldn’t be surprised if our youngsters play for India soon: Nathan Coulter-Nile