“Every time you play for your country, there is responsibility. But when you are captaining, you can say so; you have to lead from the front and make sure the team follows the direction you want them to.”

We have to win everything. The last time we went to South Africa, we had an opportunity to win the series, but things didn’t work out.

Our reefs are the heart and souls of our oceans. Nothing makes me happier than a healthy reef.

Nothing is easy in cricket. Maybe when you watch it on TV, it looks easy. But it is not. You have to use your brain and time the ball.

I’m learning from my past mistakes and trying to correct them as I move forward. Experience at the international level has probably taught me what it takes to probably go out there and get a 100 or to build an innings or to win a game.

No matter how talented you are or naturally gifted you are, there’s no substitute to hard work if you got to maintain standards.

Seeing off the new ball is important for me. I know that once I do that, the only way I could get out could be from my own mistake.

People are impatient. They want things to happen overnight, and have no idea of the circumstances and situations that can surround an individual at times.

Ganesh Chaturti has always been one of my favourite festivals since I was a kid!

My job is to help Virat in the field. He is the captain, and whenever he looks up around, I should be around to complement him and help him as much as I could.

Isn’t blue such a good color? Let’s try and keep it that way.

There are things we control – but things that are not in control, no point wasting time and energy into that.

In the IPL, you are often single-handedly responsible for the fortunes of your team. It makes you more responsible as a player.

It feels amazing to be a part of the rhino conservation story in India.

Pride, love and passion for India.

Your wings already exist, you just have to fly.

Nothing better than connecting with nature on a rest day.

I will ensure that Japan keeps getting better, better this year than last year, and better next year than this year.

War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.

I love the yellow sun. It reminds me of Russia in the 30s for some reason.

The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.

I’ve always believed in the strength and resilience of the American people.

To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.

Our struggle is a struggle to redeem the soul of America. It’s not a struggle that lasts for a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or a few years. It is the struggle of a lifetime, more than one lifetime.

We cannot allow ourselves to go on divided.