He started the chat with “jaldi” and finished with “shukriya”. Nope, he’s not an Indian celebrity with decent Hindi. He’s a Kiwi pacer who unnerves the best of batsmen with his speed and swing. So who taught new Knight Trent Boult Hindi? “SRK. He keeps saying come jaldi… jaldi mein,” he smiled. t2 got Trent-y at ITC Sonar on April 12, a day before their first home game.
How’s your first season with KKR going?
Very, very good. I love Calcutta… it’s really nice. Probably a little too hot for me. But it’s okay.
How are you battling the heat?
Well, I like to stay inside.
But you were just out all morning playing golf at RCGC!
It was very tough. It was too hot to play golf, but at least in the night time, it’s cooler to play cricket.
So you play golf quite regularly?
I play more golf than cricket! I usually play with my brother and my friends.
What else do you usually do when you’re not playing cricket?
I play a lot of cricket all year, so when I’m not playing I rest and try and not follow too much cricket. I follow more golf. I just chill out. Watch movies… play the guitar. I have been playing the guitar since I was five years old. Normally, I bring my guitar with me.
AT THE SPEED OF BOULT
Your favourite movie: The Shawshank Redemption
Actor: SRK
Actress: Blake Lively
Food: Dal Makhani
Hobby: Surfing
Song you’re humming: Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
Actor who’d play you in your biopic: Tom Cruise
KKR BFF: Woakesy (Chris Woakes)
Best attribute: My smile
One thing you’d like to change about yourself: I’d like to be taller
t2: Taller?
Yeah… and bowl like Morne Morkel!
What sort of music do you like?
Rock, pop, classic… I like to play everything on my guitar. Ed Sheeran, Eagles, Eric Clapton… I don’t sing very often… only in the privacy of my own room!
Looking forward to playing your home games at Eden Gardens?
I’ve only played one game here before… but I’m looking forward to seeing if the pitch has good bounce and carry. I’ve heard that Eden is usually sold out, yeah? How many people can fit in there? [65,000 we tell him] Well, hey… there’s nothing better than playing in front of thousands of people.
Who did you grow up watching?
Wasim Akram and Dale Steyn… they’re my two favourite bowlers. Being a left-arm bowler, Wasim is someone I’ve idolised and tried to bowl like. He is probably my oldest hero. And, from the new era, Dale Steyn is someone who I’ve idolised as well.
Is there anybody you wouldn’t want to bowl to?
Kane Williamson…. Obviously Virat Kohli is right up there too in T20 cricket. I’m not in a rush to bowl to AB de Villiers! But the IPL has so many quality batsmen, you have to be on your game, you have to be accurate to make sure you are on top of the batsman. Because any bad ball, they hit and generally they hit the good balls as well. So it’s very challenging.
It’s the 10th edition of IPL, share some of your fondest memories….
One of my fondest and earliest memories of IPL was waking up at 6 o’clock in the morning and watching Brendon McCullum hit 158 in the first IPL innings (for KKR against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008). Fondest memories of me playing was from my time at Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was a great experience. My first IPL was there and winning it last year was exciting as well, even though I didn’t play too much of a part in it.
The opportunity to join the Kolkata Knight Riders family has been very exciting. Totally different team… friendly people and I’m really enjoying myself.
So the transition has been smooth?
Very smooth! The IPL doesn’t stop. It’s like constantly talking to lovely media folk like yourself, little bit of golf, all the photo shoots and the cricket is obviously very exciting as well. So it’s a great couple of months.
Chris Woakes said he likes hanging out with you, so who are your best buds in the team?
Chris is my good friend. So is Nathan Coulter-Nile.
What do the three of you do together?
Drink tea! (Laughs) In India we can go for curry. [Somebody prompts ‘learn Hindi’.] Yeah, but Chris can’t teach me too much of Hindi? But I’d like to learn Hindi.
What other Hindi words has Shah Rukh Khan taught you?
Nehi, nehi! I think I’ve learnt more words than all my teammates. Some are good words, but some bad words, which I can’t repeat (laughs).
Fine, tell us the good words…
Aap kaise ho? Achha! Bahut achha? That’s about it. Thik hai? Shukriya!
Text: Saionee Chakraborty and Rwitoban Deb
