"The 101st person should be as important as the first person" - Brett Lee on interacting with fans
Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee stressed the importance of treating cricket fans respectfully. He believes that cricketers must treat fans fairly, regardless of how many people they encounter in a day.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he pointed out how several cricket stars tend to ignore fans at times or say no to photographs after having already posed for many.
He opined that this should not be the case because one of the most concerning signals for a player is when people stop asking for photos. The former cricketer explained:
"The way that I have dealt with it is that if they don't ask for a photo, that's when you should be upset. Sometimes fans come up and people brush them away, or they have done 100 for the day. But the 101st person should be as important as the first person."
With a massive global fan base, Lee is regarded as one of the most decorated players in modern-day cricket. The speedster has close to two million followers on Instagram and over 2.5 million followers on Twitter.
The 45-year-old's social media following is a testament to how much cricket fanatics admire him.
"You get people who know your stats better than you" - Brett Lee on Indian fans
Lee went on to remark that Indian fans are some of the most dedicated cricket lovers in the world, implying that many of his admirers are more knowledgeable about his statistics than he is.
The cricketer-turned-commentator mentioned that the Indian fans get super excited when they see him, wanting to touch him, and check the color of his hair and skin. He added:
"It's funny that when you have had the luck or the opportunity to play for your country, what happens straightaway is that you get this fan base.
"Especially over here in India, you get people who know your stats better than you and people that want to meet you, touch you, or check the colour of your skin or hair."
Lee hung up his boots in 2015, retiring from all forms of the game. While several years have passed since his retirement, he continues to remain one of the most popular figures in the cricketing fraternity.