Emraan to ‘test’ his cricketing skills in Sydney
Joginder Tuteja (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 6, 2015)

The fourth Test between India and Australia, which starts today, will have a starry spectator watching the on-field actions avidly. No, we are not talking about Anushka Sharma whose beau Virat Kohli is captaining the Indian side. It is Emraan Hashmi who is prepping up for his upcoming film, which traces another Indian captain, Mohammed Azharuddin's life-- both on and off the field.

The actor left for Sydney as soon as he had wrapped up filming the Mohit Suri-directed Hamari Adhuri Kahani. Though he has been watching matches on TV at home, Emraan wanted a firsthand experience of a 'live' match to get a feel of the cacophony on the field and how the players keep their calm amid mounting pressure.

Says a source close to the actor, "Emraan has been interacting with Azhar for some time now but thought it would be better if he watched a Test up close. This will also serve as a short break for him and he can rejuvenate himself before reporting back to the sets."

When contacted, director Anthony DSouza confirmed the news saying, "Yes, Emraan and I spoke about this and thought it would be a good idea for him to watch the match in Sydney. It is one thing to read about a match in a script and another to actually watch it. Emraan is a perfectionist in such matters. We will exchange notes when he returns to see if we can incorporate any of his observations into the script."