A tall man sporting a veshti and walking down the streets of Chennai’s Theagaraya Nagar or T Nagar is not an uncommon sight. However when that man happens to be the former opener of the Chennai Super Kings, Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, it’s definitely bound to catch eyeballs. That is exactly what happened when Matthew Hayden went street shopping in Chennai earlier this week.
The cricketer posted a picture of himself from his Instagram handle, and captioned it “Bit of undercover shopping at T Nagar Street Mall in Chennai.” In the photo, Hayden is seen sporting a fake beard and a hat, while another photo shows him dressed in a traditional veshti.
He later stated to the Times of India that this was done in response to a challenge from his former teammate, Australian player Shane Warne. Warne had challenged the former CSK opener to go street shopping in Chennai and to buy things for under 1000 rupees. Matthew Hayden is in the city to do commentary for the Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals match which is to take place on Sunday.
Taking up the challenge, the cricketer donned a cap and sported a false beard and even wore a traditional veshti and took to the streets. With the help of a local boy, who he had paid to help him manoeuvre the area, Hayden stepped out for a day in the city.
In one video posted on social media, Hayden can be seen bargaining for a watch.
Matthew Hayden is one of the most popular foreign cricketers to have been recruited for the Indian Premier League. His stint with the Chennai Super Kings lasted from 2008 to 2010, with him earning the title of the highest scorer of the IPL in 2009. Hayden played a large role in the CSK’s 2010 IPL victory, as an opener.
He is also remembered for his use of the ‘mongoose bat’ which helped him clinch the win for the CSK in the 2010 IPL finals. In that one season alone, Hayden scored 346 runs in 16 matches with the use of the mongoose bat. He even managed to easily score 93 runs off 43 balls utilising the said bat.
Image courtesy: YouTube screenshot