Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The best way to know how Virender Sehwag's mind works is to sit next to him in the players' balcony when India are batting. Every few minutes he will clutch his head and yell, 'Chauka gaya' or 'Chhakka gaya'.
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.
The thing I like the most about Sachin is his intensity. After being in the game for so long, he still has the same desire to do well for India in any international match. I tell you what, this man is a legend.
I said it before and I will say it again, MS Dhoni has been simply exceptional. His captaincy has been India's biggest strength in high pressure matches. He has always been 'THE RIGHT MAN' to take India forward.
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.
When Virat Kohli plays, wherever you are you will come and watch that because he is playing. That is his impact. When you look at him, you will get to know that this man has a mission of making his team the best.
Yes, there are dangerous batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. Yes, the bowling is striking form just at the right time but for me MS Dhoni's captaincy is India's biggest strength in this World Cup.
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.
You don't want to turn up like a Nepal or an Ireland where the entire world thinks that you're not going to win. You rather turn up like an India or an Australia or an England where everybody says this team is going to win the World Cup.
Pick any player of the world. Make him the captain of India. I can assure you that the results will still be the same. MS Dhoni just not lucky enough to have the kind of bowlers that top teams like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have.
Dhoni is one of the greatest captain I have ever seen. Dhoni's record is praiseworthy. Twenty-two Test wins is not a small achievement. And the success against Australia has come against the backdrop of the not-so-good times he went through in the last two years
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.
When I used to be the captain of India, many people literally hated me for being overly expressive. Once I retired, the same people used to say COME BACK DADA, WE MISS YOU. The same thing will happen in the case of MS Dhoni. The ones who criticise him right now will understand his importance once he retires.
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.
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 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.