ICC World T20 2014: Brad Hodge reveals he made international comeback by chance

Hodge made his comeback in the T20I series against England.

Sydney: Mar 22,2014

Veteran Australian batsman Brad Hodge has revealed that he made his comeback to the squad ‘by accident’ when he emerged from the international wilderness for the summer-ending home Twenty20 International (T20I) series against England.

Although Hodge was meant to be a ‘coaching observer’, he now finds himself in Bangladesh to probably play a key role as a batting finisher in Australia’s ICC World T20 2014 campaign.

According to News.com.au, Hodge said that it was originally not planned for him to play in the three T20 games at Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney as he was due to come into Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as a coaching observer to see how the Australian cricket side runs again.

However, Hodge revealed that with T20 captain George Bailey suffering from a groin strain, coach Darren Lehmann thought that he (Hodge) might come and play in those games, and hence his ‘accidental comeback’ happened.

The report mentioned that it has been an extraordinary renaissance for the cricketer who was told when he was 30 he would not play limited overs cricket for Australia again and Hodge said that nine years later, the decision of the selectors still hurts him as he believes it was a premature call to remove him from the team.

Meanwhile, Hodge, who made his first-class debut for Victoria in 1993-94, hinted that he may be planning to coach, beginning with the Big Bash League (BBL) competition.

ICC World T20 2014 Points Table and Team Standings

ICC World T20 2014 Schedule details