Gearing up for the IPL is not a problem at all. Every year I look forward to the IPL for the sheer fact that it is so unique. The IPL has been fascinating to be a part of because it is just another revolution.

You had the Kerry Packer revolution in the late 70s and now you have got the T20 explosion. Everyone knows, understands and appreciates that the IPL is the best T20 tournament on earth, purely because of the passion for the game in India. It is huge.

It has been wonderful for a lot of commentators to come and be involved with it. Personally, I love commentating on all formats but get upbeat and wild at times during the IPL. That is because I feel I embrace the entertainment side of it and blend into the Bollywood and cricket mix perfectly.

I am quite insane anyway, more extroverted than introverted. I tend to get up and get excited because of my character and different style. It works for me.

I see myself energized all the time and I like it. It is a part of who I am. The extroverted side of me likes to get up and go face on.

People ask me why I go over the top on camera, get animated with my expressions and pull up weird faces. A lot of it stems back to my days as a 12-year old when my mother would take me to pantomime (a type of musical comedy stage production) in between moving to different parts of Auckland. Before I got into cricket, I went to pantomime on the weekends.

I would be involved with a lot of arts and theatre because my mother was into it. In a way the IPL is also a lot like theatre where you are putting up a good show like in theatre. It is almost a case of Lights! Camera! Action! I completely fit into it and I am up for it all the time.

It is something that is not hard for me. I think because of my history of growing up and doing pantomime, it bodes well for me here. I also do various other T20 leagues across the globe and all of them have a unique product which I cater to.

Every country has its own style, its own music and theatre and it is about being a part of it. I have jumped into swimming pools with a couple of ladies, done a piece to camera and got interviewed in a pool because of the audience we need to cater to. I have also gone and danced with the cheerleaders in the past, done a New Zealand Haka or done a rain dance for matter.

That works for me and is easy for me. That is just me and I am happy to do that. I don’t even have a problem hamming it up for the camera.

If someone says ‘clown Morrison, go and do that’, I will do it. I am happy to dress up and get into the gear and do it.Bringing the fun element into the commentary in T20s is extremely important.

The pace of commentary in T20s is up because it is more fast and furious. It is high octane and action packed. I understand that some people think my style of commentary is too energized but I never find the need to tone down on what I am doing.

If you don’t like it don’t listen to me, don’t watch it at that time or turn the sound down. T20 is excitable, it is loud and for me I tend to inflict that mode. When the fours and sixes are hit you get up.

My style of commentary tends to be quite singing and through. I extend my words and syllables which come naturally to me and serve well for the T20 format. That is my style of T20 commentary.

It would have been a different tone if I were doing it for an ODI. I would mellow down and chop down another gear for Test match cricket. For me it is about shifting gears from Test matches to fifty overs to T20.

I understand the conservative purists don’t get that and argue how can you chop and change your character so much. I say, it is like Bollywood actors who are doing a romantic comedy as opposed to doing a thriller later. Why is that so difficult to accept? I have fun, put on a hat and get thematic.

Also I feel I have grown over the years. I was once channel surfing and seeing some of the IPL reruns. You listen to that and think where you have come from four years ago.

When I look back at those reruns, I think I was too quiet and didn’t project enough and too understated. But that was because I was doing more Test match cricket and fifty over stuff that time. But you realise that you have to engage the audience at the end of the day.

For me it is about getting better in that and enjoying it. It is about appreciating what it is and enjoying the entertainment.For me, the IPL and other T20 tournaments have been a bit of a God sent.

It has helped me immensely in terms of having that projection of the game and be up there for it more. It makes things for me enjoyable. The IPL has been like another lease of life for me since 2007 and has done wonders for a lot of us.

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Source: http://www.iplt20.com/news/2015/features/6373/enjoy-bowling-to-indian-batsmen-hogg