I'd like to think that every captain around the world has a vision of how they want their teams to play and most of them are allowed to take their teams forward in their own way.
Norm Smith personally came and signed me up to the Melbourne Football Club. The fact that I then played cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club - the footy club didn't like it that much.
Given how well the cards have been dealt to someone like myself, I think there's an inherent obligation to try to reach out and make a difference.
It's a fun day, a day which kicks off the start of our tour, it's got great tradition - Australian cricketers just love tradition - and it's been a really pleasant day.
He was a top man and a good professional. He was one of those who you know will never play a trick and you can ask him to do anything for you and he will. An unassuming man and a great loss to us all.
Any quality player can adjust well to the different demands. It is like a good tennis player who is expected to adjust to the clay at the French Open, the grass at Wimbledon, the hard courts of the U.S. and the heat of the Australian Open. A professi...
I always want to be known as a good Test cricketer. I believe I have the ability to score big runs in the longer format. For that, I know I have to score heavily in whatever opportunities I get.
My main focus is always to do well on the field for the Indian cricket team. When people say good things about me off the field, I am more than happy to accept them.
My shopping habits... I am not very brand-conscious about clothes. I buy whatever looks good on me. Likewise, I don't just shop only in malls or high-end stores.
In my view, if you have good or bad technique, it doesn't matter. But you will survive if you can adjust your game at international level, you are mentally strong, you know your strengths and how to score runs.
In a cricket career, your life is in some ways controlled for you. You have no control over schedules, you have no control about where you want to play, you don't have control over that as a cricketer.
I never played with a runner in my entire life, even in schools, because only I know where the ball is going and how hard, when I hit the ball, something my runner will never know about.
People make mistakes and I've probably made a few more than others, but unfortunately mine are also a bit more public. That's the way it is. You've just got to get on with life. After all, it's not a rehearsal.
I would love to play cricket today, with all - I am not just talking of money - the opportunity you get, the practice facilities, the amount of time you are able to put into preparation.
In India, it is difficult for a cricketer to show that he is under some kind of stress. Here, you can only retire when you don't want to play anymore, or the motivation is lacking.
Thinking about your role will automatically get you in the frame of mind to get your strategy and game plan right before you step onto that field.
When Richie Cunningham drank too many beers, his parents sat him down and explained their concerns. If you live on this earth, you find out that we are all the same.
Being an impatient guy, even off the field, I would always look to score runs and score them quickly. Sometimes I panic if runs are not coming.
I think only a batsman will be able to tell you about the goose bumps he gets after hitting a perfect cover drive. I'm one of them.
As a kid in New Zealand, you play cricket in summer and rugby in winter. I played cricket and hockey. Not rugby. I wasn't brawny enough for it. Or silly enough, perhaps.
I think if you look back at the lead singers that left groups that didn't make it, you'll see that a lot of them were songwriters like Lionel Richie. I mean, they were able to control their own destiny.
