He may have retired from active cricket, but his long-term association with the game is still a strong connect. The former Australian cricket captain and legendary batsmen Steve Waugh was recently in the capital to endorse Playup India’s IPL season 5 gaming application.
Mark, who is the brand ambassador of Playup India, has been keeping busy these days, and follows up on all his favourite teams through this application. He says, “For the online game called Cricket Empires, I have given a few fun strategic inputs to keep people involved in the game. I have heard that it’s doing very well.”
In times when most cricketers love to interact with their fans through social networking sites and blogs, Steve prefers to be more active in the real world. He says, “My kids play online games and watch sports on various applications. I have also tried that and it is fascinating, but I come from the old school and I like playing games with a real bat and ball. I am not active on Twitter or any other social networking site. For some players online networking is one way of spending their leisure time. When I was a player, I used to read books in my free time. I think there is no harm if you can multi-task and play a good game too.”
Mark, who visits India often, says, “It’s good to come to India. I am very comfortable and have many friends here, so I try to meet them every time I visit India. I have also been watching the IPL matches and this season has a good vibe and good buzz about it. Delhi and Mumbai teams are going good and they are giving good competition. I am amazed to see Sourav Ganguly running around and I am closely watching and admiring Brett Lee and Kevin Pieterson’s game this time.”
The former Australian skipper mentions that apart from watching games, he spends a lot of time with his teenage children.
He says, “At home I spend time with my two girls and a boy. And a lot of my time goes in charity and other business projects that I am working on. Currently, I am actively involved in the Steve Waugh Foundation and my philanthropy work in Kolkata.”