On the field, aggression can sometimes be a positive emotion. It boosts performance and can lift your game. But over the years, I have learnt that restrained aggression is a better animal. That way, you will conserve your energy and will not spend yourself quickly.
The people you choose to have around you make all the difference. My family and close friends keep me grounded. You have to have a mind of your own and a strong head on your shoulders. Cricket is the most important thing to me, so the rest of it pales in comparison.
I do believe in God. But you will not find me visiting temples every now and then. I believe in self-realization. Peace of mind matters a lot to me. What is the point in doing something just for the sake of it? I would rather do something I like doing as long as I am being true to myself.
In cricket, my superhero is Sachin Tendulkar. He has always been my hero and will continue to remain so. Apart from him and outside cricket, my mother has remained my inspiration. Whatever difficult time I had faced, she was always there for me. She has given me all the strength. She maintained her composure and supported me in tough times.
Unless someone wants to look funny, I will not recommend anyone to copy my bowling action. But on a serious note, with the confidence that I have got from the amount of runs I have been scoring, when I am thrown the ball to bowl, I am pretty sure of what I have to do. I may not be the most attractive to watch while bowling, but I can be effective.
I love soccer, love tennis... Roger Federer has been a favourite for a long, long time. The kind of consistency he has shown, 16 Grand Slam titles... The way he handles himself in pressure situations is admirable... He is so calm... In soccer, I'm a huge fan of Barcelona... I like watching Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and David Villa.
I have never fought with anyone. A lot of people talk to me, and they are like, 'Oh, you would have been fighting all the time when you were younger,' but I am like, 'I never fought with anyone because I always knew that if I hurt myself, I might lose important time in my cricket career,' so I never got into any fight, ever in my life.
My focus had always been the on-side. My coach wanted me to work on the offside strokes since he was convinced of my ability and timing on the leg side. I worked hard and firmed up my defensive technique. I am happy getting runs all around the wicket now, and getting a lot of boundaries. No one calls me a 'leggie batsman' anymore.
I was not sure of the exact mindset you should have when you go into a Test match. So I probably became too defensive when I played my first Test match. Short balls in one-day cricket, I have never thought of just defending.
In the game of cricket, a hero is a person who respects the game and does not corrupt the game. The one who does not or corrupts the game, they are the villain. They should be punished, and they have been punished in the past.
I do not believe in signing anything and everything that comes my way. I leave it to my agency to help narrow them down for me, but I do research it myself before signing. The image of the brand and its ambassadors go hand in hand.
It was a personal decision for me to stand and say that cricket is all I have in life, there is nothing I need to do other than cricket. If I want to achieve whatever I thought as a kid, I need to work hard and not let it go to waste.
My priority is cricket. Everything that I get apart from it is a result of the effort on the field. Everything else follows. I am pretty aware of my priorities, and I do not really focus on things that are not as important to me as cricket.
My superhero has always been Tendulkar, and it will be Tendulkar for life. He is someone who has inspired me immensely. Just watching him play for India, I used to dream of winning games for India, because he used to do it single handedly.
I do not abuse players. I talk to myself, I abuse myself. It is my way of letting off steam. I do it after every century, I do not do it always. I keep telling myself, Improve, improve from the previous match, the previous shot. You can do it.