Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I am happy and satisfied at the end of my career, but not much. Yes, I would have loved to leave the stage in a better way.
There is always great significance playing against India, and it is always special and a treat for people in both countries.
No one can deny there is a lot of pressure when Pakistan and India play, especially with the expectations of the fans at home.
We were able to dominate the world in the '90s because the World Cup victory completely transformed us and changed our mindset.
I think there is no better way for our players to improve and learn to perform under pressure than playing regularly with India.
As chief selector, I did my best to pick new talent and give them proper opportunities, as they are the future of Pakistan cricket.
How well a team executes its plans is important, but I think keeping nerves under pressure is far more important in the knockout stage.
We have to keep our feet on ground, stay humble, and collect all praise, well-wishes, and prayers because these will help us in future.
If people remember me as one who contributed to Pakistan's cricket, I will feel good. If people say good things, it makes me feel happy.
It's important what you can do for your team. Even if you score 30-40, if it contributes to team's victory, then it is always memorable.
It is never easy for a professional cricketer, who has represented his country for 17 years, to forget the past and adopt a new lifestyle.
What I intend to do is to launch a batting academy. I have been a batsman throughout my life, and I can't open a bowling academy after all!
I have had a fulfilling career for Pakistan, although our poor performance in the 2007 World Cup would remain the lowest point of my career.
I have told the PCB that I want total independence to work with a free mind and pick the best players, and they have assured me it will be done.
Playing Test cricket for one's country is the ultimate, but people are enjoying Twenty20 format because everything will be over within three hours.
It's not as if I never used to get under pressure. That is nonsense. It's just that my looks gave an appearance, and people didn't think I was tense.
Being chief selector has been the most challenging role of my cricket career, as I was heavily criticised for my decisions, and I couldn't respond much.
In the past, when we toured countries like Australia or South Africa, we struggled, but we also got to learn a lot, and we learnt to cope with pressure.
It is imperative that Afghanistan cricket does well. You cannot imagine how passionate Afghanistan's fans are and how they live and die by every result.
Off the field, both India and Pakistan enjoy a healthy relationship, and that's the way it should be - friends off the field and fierce competitors on it.
As a player, you have to assess how fit you are and look at your performance graph - how long you are delivering. Take Imran Khan's case: he played till 39.
World Cup 2003 was the worst phase in my career, but that is now behind me, and I am doing all-out efforts to get my place in the team back and further my career.
If someone drops a catch, and I get angry, will that catch come back to us? It won't. Therefore, it is better to be cool, because that helps in better performance.
A tour to India is different from other tours. The expectations to win are very high from our own people, and defeats and poor performances are not forgotten easily.
The pressures of playing in the World Cup are different, but it was because we coped with them in 1992 under Imran Khan's guidance and influence that we won the Cup.
I want to develop an atmosphere where the selectors, captain, and coach are on the same page because, unless this happens, there will be no turnaround in our cricket.
In the single group format, where each team plays against the other, it gives a chance to the established outfits to make a comeback if they falter in the early games.
The victory in the 1992 World Cup changed Pakistan cricket. A number of cricketers from that side turned out to be role models and inspiration for the younger generation.
We can't take such unfair criticism. It would be difficult for me to continue as captain if this unhealthy trend of demoralising the team after a few bad performances continues.
Throughout my career, we beat India in many matches, but for some reason, we never managed to get the better of them in World Cup matches, and it remains a disappointment for me.
Imran never lost faith in us as players, individually and as a team, and that gave us the confidence to win. He was a leader par excellence, and Pakistan have seen none like him.
I am a great admirer of Yuvraj and Kaif. They have generally been able to pick up the scoring when they come to bat at numbers six and seven. They also are livewires in the field.
I have one regret that whenever I look at the list of world's leading scorers, I don't see any Pakistani who has scored 10,000 Test runs; even I couldn't do it ,nor Muhammad Yousuf.
I do think the ICC has financially helped Afghanistan and Ireland a lot, but I think it's crucial that the ICC provides these Associate nations with quality coaches to work on their basics.
Frankly speaking, the pleasure and satisfaction you get after performing against India you don't get against any team, and if you ask the Indian players, they would have similar sentiments.
As my parents are from India, I am told a lot of positive things about the country, the culture and traditions of Muslims in India. I don't remember anything nasty told to me by my parents.
The 2005 Test tour to India was special, as I captained and we won at Bangalore, and it was a great tour for us, and even winning against India at Lahore in 2004 was a memorable day for me.
I am not a big supporter of sledging or insults that are hurled at you. But I don't mind if a bowler glares or stares at the batsmen. During my career, I have faced these situations numerous times.
The PCB needs to be clear in its stance on players who have been involved in corruption and tarnishing the image of the country. Because playing for the national team is the highest honor for any athlete.
I remember, before the 2003 World Cup, I worked extremely hard on my fitness. A great deal of training and dietary discipline. I believe I lost 19 kg. And 19 is the number of runs I scored in the entire tournament.
The thing that forced me to think about my retirement was that I had played my cricket with honour and distinction, and I did not want to put myself in a position where I was considered a liability or unwanted by the selectors.
I never really sought out the captaincy at any stage in my career. Now that it has been handed to me, I would obviously like to do it justice and keep performing well. The day I stop performing will be the day I happily relinquish the role.
In 2004, we were in a rebuilding phase after the disastrous 2003 World Cup campaign, and the batsmen, in particular, did not know where they would bat or what was their role. For example, in the one-dayers, we were playing Shahid Afridi on top of the order, but we didn't consider him for the Tests.
The World Cup 2015 will be a stage for youngsters to make names for themselves and earn the respect and recognition of the cricket pundits. However, this can only be achieved if they don't get overawed by the situation, stay focused, stick to basics, respect the opponents, and follow match plans that will vary from match to match.