Sledging is an important part of the game, but you should never cross the line.
— Virender Sehwag
I have never hidden my injury before, or fitness problems. Even my shoulder operation was planned after consulting the then coach Gary Kirsten and skipper MS Dhoni.
The officers and jawans of CRPF have sacrificed a lot for the nation.
If a player fails to perform in four or five consecutive matches, he should be dropped irrespective of whether he is a senior or a junior player.
I have lived my dream and played at the finest of cricket grounds across the globe, and I want to thank the groundsmen, clubs, associations, and everyone who painstakingly prepare the arena for our performances.
God has been kind, and I have done what I wanted to do - on the field and in my life.
No doubt, if you go through records, Dhoni is India's best captain to date. Beating Sourav Ganguly, he won the Tests, ODIs, and T20s, won both the World Cups. Nobody can deny that, but to give credit to a single person is not good; others should also get credit for winning the Cups.
No Indian wants their sports persons to get left behind or any particular sports to get left behind.
There has been the negative impact of spot-fixing and match-fixing, but it is the individual player's responsibility to look after that because if a player wants to do that, it is difficult to stop him. It is the individual player's responsibility to play fairly.
As an international player, the players have to adapt to the condition no matter what the situation is.
There are days when you make runs, and there will be a dry spell. Like in business, every year you don't make profits.
When I grew up, I tried to score off every ball, be it a 10-over-match, a 20-over, or even a Test match. If I stay in the wicket for, say, about 30 minutes, I want to make the most of it and score maximum runs possible. You never know when you get out; try to score as much possible before that.
I have been successful as an opener, but who knows, maybe I would have been more successful in the middle order.
Sachin Tendulkar was one of the fittest players.
I am the superstitious kind: I never praise a shot because I fear the moment I do so, the batsman gets out.
Cricketers are worried about their milestones, worried that they should score 5000-10,000 Test runs, but I am not fussy.
After you score 300 runs in one innings, you begin to feel that every innings should be close to this one. Of course, I know that won't happen. But I will be disappointed if I get going well and am unable to convert it into a huge score.
If you know how to score runs, you can perform in any format.
My father was a farmer, and we have had some farming land in Haryana. Maybe I would have followed his footsteps and become a farmer.
Til the day I didn't play under-19 World Cup, nobody ever celebrated my birthday. And the moment I played for Indian team, my family got excited and ordered and cut a cake for me in front of 40-50 family members.
I would like to ask, Should not a player who has played 12 to 13 years for his country deserves a farewell match?
I would like to thank all my captains who believed in me and backed me to the hilt. I also thank our greatest partner, the Indian cricket fan, for all the love, support, and memories.
I don't think it's correct to blame the captain. He at least tries to keep all together so that the team plays well, plays positive cricket, and wins the match for the country, and not think about only winning and earning a name for himself.
To say that I wanted to become the captain is entirely incorrect. When Dhoni became captain and I played under him, we won the T20 World Cup.
I would never want a guy who is not a natural keeper.
If a player is playing IPL and earning money, it's not his fault that he's not playing for India. He is not quitting. He is playing first-class, one-day cricket and IPL. If selectors don't pick him, what can he do?
Australia always gives a tough fight, and that's why every player wants to perform against Australia. When you perform against Australia, England, and South Africa, you automatically earn more respect.
Like life, the beauty of sports is that no two periods are identical.
I think if you think so much, you simply cannot bat.
I have a gym at home where I do weight training as well as cardio. I love doing bench press but cannot share information on how much weight I lift. I also practise Yoga. My guru Sadhguru taught me different kriyas like Surya Namaskar, which I do for my personal well being.
Fitness has nothing to do with age.
I was scared of facing only one bowler - that was Muttiah Muralitharan.
When I took up cricket seriously, I wanted to play for India. When my dream was achieved, I thought what next? Then a fellow cricketer told me, 'Playing for India is easy; playing for 10-15 years is difficult.' Then I changed my dream to play 100 Test matches. I achieved that as well. Now there is nothing to achieve, so I am just enjoying things.
In international cricket, the atmosphere changes, and the interest level is higher, but for a cricketer, it is still a game he has to play.
Coach should be a friend, not a coach. And at international level, all you need is a friend who can motivate you. Technique doesn't matter.
We don't need to run 5-6 kms, even in a Test match.
I don't like to party. I like to spend time with family on my birthday.
A sort of sadness shall always remain in my mind that I was not allowed to retire while playing, but anyway, it's all a part of life for a sportsman who, while playing, never realises when he should retire, but he starts thinking about it when he is dropped.
Playing for India was a memorable journey, and I tried to make it more memorable for my team mates and the Indian cricket fans. I believe that I was reasonably successful in doing so.
To say that the captain makes the team lose or win is not correct.
It's the duty of the federations to make sure that the funds reach the athletes properly. They need to make sure that the athletes get proper facilities so that they can win the medals for the country.
If I do commentary, write articles, or am an expert on a news channel, I can still earn money.
Players like Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Warner, Glenn Maxwell were noticed at IPL first. It is a platform for players all over the world.
Experience always enables you to handle pressure better.
I never thought of coaching the Indian cricket team. I was given the offer... BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhury and MV Sridhar came to me and requested me to think on the offer. I took my time and then applied for the position.
People say I take too many risks. But the fact is, there is risk involved in every shot. You can get out trying to defend a ball as well.
Every player has his own mantra of working on his physique.
I always tell myself to bat the full day, and if there is a ball to be hit, just hit it.
Does it make a difference if I score 8000 or 10,000 runs in Test cricket? Not in anybody's life.
As a cricketer, everybody has a dream to play for your country.
