I didn't have a good time with Lancashire in 2000. Probably I'd played too much cricket and should have taken a rest, but I went there when the offer came because I had always had an ambition to play the county game in England. And I was a bit jaded. And I didn't do myself justice. I want to put that right before I finish my career.
Sourav Ganguly
Mistakes do happen and life goes on.
As much as you learn to handle failure, you must learn to handle success too, because that's also important.
I am a big fan of Virat Kohli. He is a captain who always wants to win matches on the field and I love that passion in him.
Everything in life is about standing up and making the most of your opportunities.
You can't be chasing 338 and still have 5 wickets in the end. It's about mindset and the way you look at the game.
Wrist spinners have been successful in world cricket. Look at Shane Warne.
In world cricket, I think Joe Root is a fine captain.
Ball-tampering has happened before. Bowlers and fielders have found different ways to get the ball roughened up on one side.
One of my favourite sportsmen was Diego Maradona and every time I saw him play football you could see the passion in the heart.
Captains are always criticised.
We are all human beings. We are not machines that everything you put in comes out perfect.
Kohli is the greatest chaser by far and I am saying this keeping in mind the great man Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin was special but as far as chasing is concerned, Kohli has done better than Sachin. Kohli is unreal.
I don't believe in rankings. Sometimes the rankings surprise me. I don't think it's fair to judge a team on the basis of rankings.
You have just got to live life and let others live.
I was at the Wimbledon some time back and I saw Roger Federer play.
Look at Virat Kohli, he is such a fantastic role model. India is a fortunate country. Every generation produces players who all of us cherish.
They say with age your reflexes slow down. I've not felt it.
India, Pakistan series has always been decided by the government. We toured in 2003-04 when I was the captain and it was for the first time since 1989-90 that we toured Pakistan. There were times even in those days when the series was planned but would get cancelled. So you have to leave it to the government.
In 1992, I was part of the Test team and played the Tri-series too. But, I missed the World Cup after being left out of the squad since I was fairly young.
Sometimes as a player you do not want to get into a controversy.
I live in the present and do not look that far ahead.
Fortunately, being on TV has led me to have a stylist. I generally pick up what I want to wear, and get my stylist's approval for it.
Running-between-the-wickets is the ability to convert ones into twos, twos into threes, and threes into fours. And to reach the wickets on time.
I think nobody has the right to talk about Sachin Tendulkar's game. It's just a phenomenon.
You can call it my bias or love for Harbhajan but if you are picking three best spinners in the country, he's got to be among them. Harbhajan is one bowler who should be playing all three formats of the game.
Kohli is a flag bearer of Indian cricket.
I cherish my entire life. I've been blessed with a life full of good memories.
As captain of India, the world was at my feet and then I did not find myself in the team. Not many captains would find themselves in that position.
Age is never a factor if talent is there.
It's my one aim, my dream to win a series overseas.
Rishabh Pant whenever he has got away from Delhi on good pitches, hard pitches where there is carry, he has been exceptional with the bat.
A good opening stand is always crucial for a team.
Ravindra Jadeja should not be in the World Cup team.
Bangladesh, despite producing big upsets in the past, doesn't have the art of beating big teams consistently.
There is nobody called Test bowler, one day bowler or T20 bowler. It just how you adapt and make a difference to your own game.
The moment a spinner gets turn he becomes dangerous.
I am a very quiet person off the field, very laidback like a lot of Bengalis.
When I first became captain of the Indian cricket team in 2000, many well-wishers and journalist friends gifted me the classic Mike Brearley book, 'The Art of Captaincy.' I mean no disrespect to the book or Mr, Brearley, who I admire a great deal, but books or team meetings don't make you good captains.
I used to watch Manchester United a lot when David Beckham was there, but not any more now he's gone.
No matter what, Test cricket will survive. I've always said Twenty20 would be popular but there will be a place for Test cricket.
There is no doubt that Nathan Lyon is a great spinner but so were Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Graeme Swann.
That's why every cricketer wants to play international cricket. First of all you're playing for your country, secondly there's a lot of media attention and thirdly, for India, there is so much support for us, especially in England. So you know what you are doing is important, and that motivates you, helps you get going.
I lost my captaincy after winning the series 2-0, and also getting a Test match 100. I never captained India after that. I couldn't play one-day cricket in spite of being the best ODI player in the world at that time.
I played my first World Cup game against South Africa where I scored 97 runs before being run-out by Jonty Rhodes.
In your journey to the tag of winning-at-all-costs you can still behave, you can still do the right things by not crossing the line. Lot of champions have done it. Look at Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh.
But obviously captaincy is a long process. It takes its toll as time goes on.
One-day cricket must be taken with equal importance to Test cricket.
I love playing England. The teas at Lord's are good quality.
My brother was a left-hander. When I was young, my father would say take your brother's gloves and pads and play, so I picked up the bat left-handed.
