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I define friendship as a bond that transcends all barriers. When you are ready to expect anything and everything from friends, good, bad or ugly... that's what I call true friendship.
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According to the situation, your role changes in one-day cricket, especially in a phase like the Powerplay. If I bowl four spells, four times I will be playing a different role. If I come in the first Powerplay, and say the opposition are 70 for no loss after 10 overs, I will be looking to take a wicket.
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I am very emotional. It took me many years to recover from the death of my father. Even when I was playing cricket, I wasn't happy. I would just sit and cry. I was very young. He was too young; he shouldn't have gone. Cricket is all right. We all play sport. Good and bad days come.
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Let's face it: fitness is boring. But it's critical to be extremely dedicated to whatever you decide to take up to achieve a desired result. There's no way you are going to get there without dedication, which is the key for me.
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I am just enjoying what cricket has given me. In sports, it's obviously really important for all of us to remain fit - and health is wealth, so health comes with the sport.
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Most of the cricketers are doing side businesses apart from playing the sport, so why should I be left behind. I feel there is a lot of money in making films, and since Punjabi cinema is doing good, this is a lucrative option for me.
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I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run up to bowl. The perfect delivery stride is understandable because he is a world champion athlete. But the manner - he loaded at the crease and then bowled the ball - left me zapped. He looked like a natural cricketer.
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Being a professional cricketer, you have to adapt to the conditions quickly. It takes time to get rhythm when you are constantly traveling from one country to another.
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It is always challenging bowling abroad - you don't get much spin, bounce. You do get bounce, but you don't get sideways spin. It is always drifting kind of spin you get.
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A bowler is his own captain. I know what needs to be done, what the ball is doing. If you don't know where you are going to bowl and where you think the batsman will hit, then how can you tell the captain what you want? You are the judge.
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There have been a few friends who have taught me some great lessons in life. I wouldn't like to name them. They did things that I never expected out of them that left me heart-broken. It was during these rough patches in life that they left me alone. I know now that it was only my position that they were interested in.
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Cricket is my passion; it is my first love. So I will not act in my movies, as they will just be a side business for me.
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International sport is a lonely journey. You compete with one's self and try to grow as a cricketer.
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You cannot keep doing the same things. According to the situation, your role changes in one-day cricket, especially in a phase like the Powerplay. If I bowl four spells, four times I will be playing a different role.
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You have to see if the batsman is coming out, if he is staying back, what his grip is like, to gauge his intentions. A common trend I have observed is, a lot of batsmen change their grips when they are looking to hit: normally they either go high or slide their hand to the bottom of the handle to get maximum power.
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I would say I am an ordinary bowler but one with a really big heart, and that's what has stood me in good stead in all these years.
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I do not fear grassy tracks. Whether there is grass or not on the wicket, I am not worried.
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Sometimes I just get over-excited. I see the pitch and I think, 'I have to get this wicket.' When I am just looking to bowl, I am calm and composed, and most of the time I get it right. The ball lands where I want it to.
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If Indians were not largehearted, they wouldn't have made so much of progress and delivered growth.
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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.
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The batsman does not always need to create big hits. He can hit a boundary, then pick up some singles and still gets nine runs. To avoid that, I need to plan in a way where he must look to hit wherever there is a fielder. That is what is called 'bowling to the field.'
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I do not play golf regularly, but I feel that hitting the moving ball in cricket is tougher than hitting a stationary ball as in golf, which requires more concentration and steady hands.
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Either you face the challenges in life head on or back out. And I am not someone to back out from challenges.
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You don't become the leading spinner of the team by just talking. You have to perform well consistently over a long period of time. I have bowled well and won games for India. That is why I am the No. 1 spinner. Every time I have taken the field, I have given my 100%.