I define friendship as a bond that transcends all barriers. When you are ready to expect anything and everything from friends, good, bad or ugly... that's what I call true friendship.
It's very hard to find true friends when your life is a bumpy ride full of twists and turns. But, I'm glad that amidst all the ramblings in my life I have managed to win some great friends.
Most of the cricketers are doing side businesses apart from playing the sport, so why should I be left behind. I feel there is a lot of money in making films, and since Punjabi cinema is doing good, this is a lucrative option for me.
I have entered the sports equipment business with 'Bhajji Sports.' I am applying for ICC clearance so that cricket bats with 'Bhajji Sports' logos could be used for international matches. In domestic circuit, the Punjab team is already wearing Bhajji Sports dresses for the Ranji Trophy matches.
I am not a great fan of computers. I do watch videos and analyse which batsman is playing how. Batsmen can play different shots on different days. A batsman may not play cover drives well, but if he connects with two such shots, he starts playing the drive well on that day.
I just don't know the art of making friends with girls. And that's the reason why I've never had a single girl as a friend. Also, I'm so engrossed in cricket that I've never found an opportunity to interact with girls very closely. In a way, it's better, as my mind doesn't get diverted!
Being a professional cricketer, you have to adapt to the conditions quickly. It takes time to get rhythm when you are constantly traveling from one country to another.
You cannot keep doing the same things. According to the situation, your role changes in one-day cricket, especially in a phase like the Powerplay. If I bowl four spells, four times I will be playing a different role.
For a spinner growing up in England, it is challenging to become an off-spinner. The line and length needs to be altered on each of the four days of county cricket or five days of Test matches. The pitches in England don't have a set pattern. It changes with each day, and accordingly, the length varies.
You need to understand the batsman, where he plays his shot usually, which is his release shot, and then change the angle, vary the pace, line and length. You cannot always react after being at the receiving end.
A bowler is his own captain. I know what needs to be done, what the ball is doing. If you don't know where you are going to bowl and where you think the batsman will hit, then how can you tell the captain what you want? You are the judge.
Four hundred is a lot. When I was young, I remember Kapil Dev getting it, and it was quite a big thing. An Indian had taken it. I feel honoured and proud that God has given me a chance to reach 400 wickets. It's a big thing for me; I don't know about others.
Sometimes I just get over-excited. I see the pitch and I think, 'I have to get this wicket.' When I am just looking to bowl, I am calm and composed, and most of the time I get it right. The ball lands where I want it to.
I am very emotional. It took me many years to recover from the death of my father. Even when I was playing cricket, I wasn't happy. I would just sit and cry. I was very young. He was too young; he shouldn't have gone. Cricket is all right. We all play sport. Good and bad days come.
For me, making my intent clear to the batsman before he stamps his authority is important. Playing with his mind is a way of attacking rather than setting attacking fields.