What has happened has happened. What is done cannot be undone. There is no point in looking back and ruminating over the past. I am a forward-looking man. I want to look ahead; I want to put my past behind me. I want to make my country proud.
Allah is with people who show patience. If you are down in the dumps, Allah will help you if you have belief. But this is a personal thing between you and him. You can't fool Allah.
At times, you are mentally but not physically prepared; at times, you are physically but not mentally prepared. I would be lying if I said it doesn't affect your performance. But the sooner you get over it, the better. So you discipline yourself. That is why fitness counts.
My strength is my humility. When you are humble, people like you.
People are going to write things about you, but you have to take the good with the bad, so you shouldn't take it very seriously. If you take it to heart, it'll get very difficult to deal with. So, just take it with a pinch of salt.
My uncle used to play cricket. I got used to the game at home. As kids we used to all wonder seeing the bats lying around the house. As we grew older, we realised what the game was all about, and then our interest in the game grew.
Cricket was a splendid chapter of my life; indeed, it made me what I am today. However, cricket alone isn't the only flavour of life. Sometimes, indeed, we tend to take sports too seriously and life too casually.
A lot of things that should not be written were written without checking with me, things that were not in good taste. That hurt me. That is why I stopped talking to the press. Because they didn't want to ask me. They just wanted to write what they felt like.
I never played for records. If I had played for records, then I would have had many more runs against my name. If, by your performance, the team wins, then that is what is most gratifying.
Many of us forget who we were before we became cricketers. I remember how hard I tried to get an autograph when I was young.
I had lost my grandfather just a month-and-a-half before I made my debut. I was suddenly scoring runs and getting into the fray. It was a very trying period for me. I was happy as well as sad.
Mentally, I am very strong; physically I am very strong. I think that keeps me going. That keeps me strong all the time.
We in the Congress Party are hoping to do greater efforts to help the people of India, especially the downtrodden who find it very tough to get ahead in life. We are focusing on tackling issues related to unemployment and poverty.
When you are scoring runs, you automatically become a good leader because you are armed with so much confidence. If you struggle with your performance, then it becomes very difficult for a leader to perform his role.
I want to improve cricket at the district level because lot of hardworking players come from districts. We have produced so many great players, but now we don't have players in the Indian team. My intention is to work hard for the game of cricket.
If you ask me the best bowler, then Wasim Akram was the best bowler because he had a lot of variety. Even when you were batting on 100 or 150, you're not very sure... He could still get you out. That was his forte.
I always thought that I played better when I was the captain. If you look at my record during the six years I was captain - except for a couple of series - I did very well.
You need to protect the best players in the country. When there is so much cricket, we must work on ways to prolong their careers.
It sounds sweet when, after a long time, people talk good about you, especially when you have done a lot for the country and played with distinction. It's good; it's a good feeling.
When you want to do something, you have to do it whole-heartedly.
