Brad Hogg apologies for calling Taijul Islam as 'Taj Mahal' during Chattogram Test

Brad Hogg and Taijul Islam (Source: Twitter)

India took 1-0 lead after beating Bangladesh by 188 runs in the first Test on Sunday. One person who was having a hard time off the field was former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg. He had created a storm on social media as he mistakenly pronounced Taijul Islam as the 'Taj Mahal' during the Chattogram Test in Bangladesh.

He has come out and put out a heartfelt apology on his YouTube channel and said that it was a ‘slip of the tongue 'and that he is working very hard on the proper pronunciations of the names of the players.

In a Q and A session, he was asked about the hurdles that he faced while commentating in the first Test in Bangladesh and he came out in the open and talked about the difficulties faced.

“Getting the names right, sometimes. Someone picked up Taijul. I said Taj Mahal the other day when I first got on there when he was first bowling. I didn’t mean that, it was a slip of the tongue. Sometimes that happens.”.

I get a bit tongue tied with names-  Brad Hogg

He also talked about mistakenly addressing former Indian Women's captain Anjum Chopra as ‘Anjam’ when he was talking in the studio. Here's what he said,

“I was doing a studio show with Anjum Chopra. Wonderful lady, wonderful commentator. There was a talking point on and I tried to complement her on her comment. I just got a bit of a blank straightaway trying to get her name out. I was calling her Anjam instead of Anjum. Sometimes, just getting a little tongue-tied with the names.”

He also said that it is very important from a commentator's point of view to get the names of the cricketers right.

“It’s very important to try and get the names right. I don’t do it deliberately. I am working on it and it’s a great challenge because one, you are learning how to pronounce names in those particular areas the right way. Two, you are getting an understanding of the culture as well when you are starting to pick up other dialects - little words that you see here and there.

“I’ll put my hands up. I am always going to make mistakes, but I don’t mean to. That’s probably the hardest thing in commentary.”