“I support Real Madrid. I’m a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo.”

During my school days, I was doing a play, and my costume fell on the stage. I really wish it didn’t happen.

I always dreamt of holding the bat and winning games for India. That was my inspiration to take up cricket.

It undoubtedly feels nice when you are being appreciated and you get complimented by girls. Who doesn’t like that? Having said that, I don’t take it as any pressure.

Never at any point did I feel like missing a training session. I was very keen on improving as a cricketer and as an international player.

When you absolutely love what you do, everything just flows.

The more centuries that I am able to score, the happier I will be.

The bat is not a toy, it’s a weapon. It gives me everything in life, which helps me to do everything on the field.

Remember who you are and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Nothing extraordinary happens to a cricketer if you time his career – which is very short.

In the game of cricket, a hero is a person who respects the game and does not corrupt the game. The one who doesn’t or corrupts the game, they are the villain. They should be punished, and they have been punished in the past.

Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.

I want to be relaxed in my personal life. I really don’t like to be hassled.

Real fun is in a real challenge.

I don’t really focus on these things – on what tags are given to me or what people think of me off the field – stuff like that. 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.

People from North India are generally known to be aggressive and emotional.

In the end, it’s you who you have to answer to.

Fans always tell me I’m beautiful, but no one will ever be as beautiful as them

If your music is great, you will have fans, not because you have spent time chatting on social media.

I’m not a big fan of western movies and I really don’t like cowboy-indian movies. I have never watched them.

I am very happy that Floyd Mayweather and I can give the fans the fight they have wanted for so many years.

I’ll never forget one time a fan came up to me crying, and told me, ‘You really inspire me to be me. I feel OK to be myself now.’

There are so many fans and so many people who care deeply about this game, and it is because of these fans that we are who we are as cricketers.

I want my fans to understand that what you put into the universe is what you get back.

I know how influential I am over my fans and followers. I feel like everything I do, my hair color, my makeup, I always start these huge trends, and I don’t even realize what I’m capable of.