“Sachin Tendulkar is already a ‘Bharat Ratna’ for Indian people because of his phenomenal success and the manner in which he has served Indian cricket for years.”

Even if my grandchildren don’t remember the fact that I scored 10,000 runs in Test and ODI cricket, I am confident that they will remember that Sachin Tendulkar used to be my team-mate.

He is a great leader by example. Someone whom I have always admired for his ability to remain balanced and have the sense of equanimity about his captaincy.

I was telling people if every time I answered a question about Multan I got a rupee, I would be a multimillionaire by now.

If you don’t ask for the best, you don’t get it.

You get an image in the first couple of years of your career, and then whether you like it or not, you are stuck with it for the rest of your life.

You don’t play for revenge, you play for respect & pride.

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.

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.

No dream is ever chased alone.

Playing in the same team as Sachin is a huge honour. His balance of mind, shrewd judgment, modesty and, above all, his technical brilliance make him my all-time hero. You can’t get a more complete cricketer than Sachin. He has everything that a cricketer needs to have.

I am what I am. I have not deliberately built an image for myself.

I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling. No dream is ever chased alone.

Cricket is just something that I am good at, just like various people are good at various things. What’s lucky is that cricket gets enormous publicity.

I am not the only intense or intellectual cricketer. I played with other cricketers who could be pretty intense and intellectual.

There is an element of mystique to radio, and I often listen to cricket commentary on radio, especially when one is stuck in a traffic jam.

Sometimes fitness is a good thing to have, but you have to recognise that fitness takes you only so far, and skills are the most important thing. Fitness just helps you execute those cricketing skills for longer and more consistently, maybe.

The era of playing aggressive cricket and to have the mid-on up is gone. You now try to read the mindset of a batsman.

If you remain humble, people will give you love and respect even after you have finished with the game.

I focus on cricket because it’s something I am good at. After retiring, I want to serve the Indian Army. It has always been about serving the nation.

For me, fielding and running between the wickets are two things that are very important.

I don’t like discussing cricket off the field.

I am always the one who is responsible for anything bad that happens in Indian cricket. Everything that happens is because of me.

I believe in giving more than 100% on the field, and I don’t really worry about the result if there’s great commitment on the field. That’s a victory for me.

It doesn’t matter which year a player is born in, whether you are 19 or 20 – you have to be agile. You have to accept your shortcomings.