Critics haven't taught me my cricket, and they don't know what my body and mind are up to.
I don't open the newspapers (to see what's written about me). I don't read them and you can see them hanging at the stand outside my hotel room. I focus on my game only. Last 21 years have been really special for me and I throughly enjoyed my joyful journey
I couldn't have asked for anything more than this. Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. Thanks to my team-mates. Without them, nothing would have happened. I couldn't control my tears of joy.
Obviously after such a long gap, one itches to get back to the game and score big runs.
I feel it's the conscious mind that messes things up. The conscious mind is constantly telling you, this might happen or that might happen, even before it has happened. Your conscious mind tells you the next ball might be a out-swinger, but when it's coming at you you realize it's an in-swinger... so literally, you've played two balls.
Wasim and Waqar were amazing bowlers. I would put them right up there with the best in the world.
I grew up looking at my father as to how to behave. In watching him I grasped so many things. His own temperament was of a calm person. He was very composed and I never saw anger in him. To me, that was fascinating.
At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match.
I am not going to come back and play IPL. Have a few plans and may play a few matches here and there.
I fail sometimes, I succeed sometimes, so that's fair enough. It's a package deal. It comes with that package: failures and success.
I'm really focusing now on how I can get to the next level as a batsman. How can I get even more competitive? How can I get even more consistent? How can I get better?
I have never thought where I will go, or forced any targets on myself.
Any team sport, there are certain team targets and those targets should always be in the forefront.
I just want to continue the way I am going.
It really doesn't matter honestly to look at the scoreboard where it's 20 runs and 2 wickets down or 200 runs, 2 wickets down, because... if you're positive inside it really doesn't matter. It just requires different planning sometimes.
Schools across India do not have teachers, libraries, playing grounds and even toilets. I do not want to see empty classrooms, empty libraries. I do not want to see cattle grazing on fields meant to be cricket or football grounds.
