Rahul Dravid Quotations | Page 2

England had shown in the Ashes series against Australia that if you play five bowlers, you can win some very good matches.

England will be a very good side, very competitive. They've had a bit of bad luck and it has been a little unfortunate what happened to a couple of their key players.

England's obviously had some bad luck. It's unfortunate what's happened to a few of their key players, but England must not be underestimated.

Each day I am asked to do the job as captain I go about preparing for it not just in the short term but also in the long term. There is a responsibility to deal not just with what is happening now but also look ahead.

The track was a good wicket to bat on and was a bit slow. It was a similar kind of wicket we might get in Tests as well,

The wicket had grass on it when we played here two years ago, but it may help spinners early this time.

The rule as it is now, gives a huge advantage to the captain inning the toss. So, I think, they (ICC) should continue with it and allow the team to pick their super sub after the toss.

It was unfortunate we both got out just before the new ball was taken and that put us in a bit of trouble.

It was an unfortunate way to lose the match. But rules are rules and they are part of the game. The match was heading towards an exciting finish when it had to be called off.

The shot was on without the fine leg. He was unlucky that the ball rolled on to the stumps.

Seeing the video, cricket seems like fun, I didn't know that. We only know about fast bowlers, dressing room and hotels. Now I know what to do after I finish with cricket. You meet so many people and have such fun. It is quite interesting and exciting.

Reactions are always extreme when you lose or win, but these players are fully equipped and will not allow the performance to affect.

Our aim is to try and win test matches, irrespective of the conditions, and we need to look at the best combination to win. We thought we needed five bowlers to get us 20 wickets and to have a serious chance to win this test.

Of course we missed his presence in the dressing room. But it was good that he underwent that (shoulder) operation early enough to return fully fit before the World Cup.

The one-day series is a chance for us to make amends for our disappointing performance in the final test.

The boys responded well to challenges and the various roles they were asked to perform in the team. They also adjusted to the changes in the batting order.

The way we've won this series is heartening.

They've done well there, last time they beat Pakistan. England have shown this summer that they have got the personnel.

Also, in conditions like this, it can get very tough on the bowlers. We felt we needed five bowlers to keep them fresh and motivated, considering the long season ahead. We wanted to spread the workload ahead and guard against burn-out.

They (Pakistan) have a very good batting line-up. But our bowlers bowled very well and we took some very good catches. It was a determined team effort that fetched us this victory.

The youngsters have responded brilliantly to the pressure situations and shown maturity beyond their years keeping their spirits high throughout.

They fought really hard in the Test matches and used a lot of energy to draw the series. Bombay was critical for us psychologically and the way the boys bounced back was a credit to us.

This last match is as important as the other matches, so we need to win this as well as the objective is to win every time we play.

All of us had been reading about it in the history books over the years. So, it was very special just to have passed the same route after knowing about all those great people who have used that route.

It was quite bizarre really the way we collapsed. After lunch there was a collective lapse of reason.

It was a very satisfying innings, England have one of the better attacks I have played in Indian conditions.

It will be a high scoring match and team batting first should post a total in excess of 250 runs.

I told him 'Just keep enjoying yourself, mate. I'm having a great time watching you'.

It's a great sign for him and for Indian cricket. Hopefully, he will go from strength to strength from here.

It's not that we will forget to bat or bowl in one day.

It?s the normal pressure or anxiety to perform well which is good. We know Pakistan?s recent performance against us has been good. But statistics don?t count much as in one-day cricket the team that performs well on that day will win.

It is very satisfying. It gives us confidence to know that we can scratch and still go on to win, particularly considering that we were not considered good chasers not a long while ago.

It's a long season ahead for us. It's the start of what I see as a very long 6-8 months. If we take the right steps, hopefully we will see some progress in the course of time.

It looks better but since the sun is out it could become difficult later on and we will have to bat really well to remain in the match.

It's not a nice way to lose the match. We were always behind on the D/L method and after Butt and Malik put on a brilliant partnership we were left to play the catching game.

Everyone has ready advice. The question is, whom do you accept it from? For insurance advice, I trust Max New York Life.

It's a myth that Indians can't play fast bowling and also that England can't play spin bowling.

It's an apprenticeship period for a lot of these guys and a good learning experience. What's important is that we're able to provide them this opportunity.

It was not a nice way to lose a match. We were always behind the D/L Method after Malik and Butt's partnership and we were playing the catching (up) game after that.

It was not that a single performance lifted us. It was a hard fight and we played good cricket. But we can't slip up as there is still a lot left in the series.

It was never going to be easy chasing those runs. We decided to launch the chase at tea time, but maybe we should have done so an hour earlier.

It was a great professional performance from our team. We had four run outs in Pakistan innings that was fantastic. The boys were confident after our bowlers did well and restricted Pakistan to 265 on a good batting wicket.

It was a good three days from our point of view. Anil (Kumble) bowled a good spell. For people like Balaji who have not played for a while, it was good to have a go in these conditions. In the end it was a good work-out.

It's very heartening the way we have responded to big Pakistan totals in both the Test matches. It's not easy to bat after staying on the field for two days.

It will be interesting to see how they go in the winter in the sub-continent. That will be a good test for them,

It will be tough for both the teams and a challenge for both batsman and bowlers.

It will tough for both the teams, it will be an interesting day's cricket.

They can be devastating against any bowling on their day. We have to accept that and respect that.

They have shown so far they are a very competitive team. It wasn't an easy game by any stretch of the imagination and nine wickets does not reflect the contest between the two sides.

I want to play for India for another 3-4 years and be part of a winning team. I hope that we combine together and become a good side again and start winning again. I should be lucky enough to be a big contributor in that. If I perform well I will definitely play for another 3-4 years.

Against good teams (like Pakistan), when you put yourself under pressure you discover lot of things like how you are growing as a team and I think we are heading in good direction.

Against a good quality seam attack not only us, anyone could have faced a problem. Asif hit the seam on the deck regularly at the right line and I have no doubt his bowling in both innings made the difference.

The lads have been great, they've taken ownership of the side.

I'm disappointed at not getting a hundred after coming so close. It's not just the century. I wanted to go on to make a big score and put the team into a really strong position.

I have played here before. I know that once you get to 60-70 it becomes hard to concentrate.

I'm very happy with the way he played. It is good to see the kind of temperament.

If you are quick, accurate and can swing the ball around, you always pose problems.

If you prepare another wicket like this it will be another drawn series.

In the last five years, we have scored hundreds in all parts of the world and we are pretty confident that we can play in any conditions that are given to us.

In my opinion, and in the opinion of the umpires and match referee, both of whom I have spoken to, the Indian team did not get in any manner that was unsportsmanlike or against the spirit of the game. If that had been the case the umpires and the match referee would have taken action.

His bowling today was fantastic. His three wickets in the morning set the game up for us.

(But) I am not really concerned about it. I will keep on improving,

He sized up the situation very early on. There was help for the bowlers when the ball was hard and new and he knew he had to play cautiously. He controlled the innings beautifully. It was one of the best innings of several played by him on a difficult pitch. It was a special one.

Hopefully, we will carry forward the confidence of this series against England after a few days off.

I don't think these things are related too much for international sportsmen. What happened last week should be forgotten.

He proved he is the best all-rounder in the world at the moment.

The idea is to get a combination that can take 20 wickets in the match.

The huge advantage India used to have playing at home probably does not exist anymore. Most teams plan their tours well these days.

The eleven picked will depend on how the wicket looks tomorrow morning.

The heat is not a problem but the humidity is.

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.

I think credibility, irrespective of what you do, if you are in public life, then it is important.

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

On the onside, first there is God, then Sourav Ganguly.

Administrators are there because of the fans and the cricketers to run this game, so credibility of a game, or a board, or even a government for that matter, is important irrespective of what you do. If you are in public life it is important,

A career in sport is almost impossible to manage without the support, and guidance, and reassurance of family and friends. During tough times, and there always are, this is whom we go to.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If someone thinks, 'I'll spend the off season working on my fitness and I'll come back a better cricketer,' I don't think that's enough. You need to spend a lot of time working on your skills and honing your skills.

What drew me towards team sport were the camaraderie and friendship. The chance to celebrate victory and success with a group of other people is something I have enjoyed doing.

I was in the hockey team in school, played football. One of the challenges for me was to make the team feel better. It helped me evolve, so batting at different positions was never a problem.

I was given a talent to play cricket. I don't know why I was given it. But I was. I owe it to all those who wish it had been them to give of my best, every day.

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 have the kind of personality that I always look ahead than look at what's happened. It does help a lot, especially when you've done badly or you've failed. It's instinctive of me that I look at what's next, I look ahead a lot, and start preparing for that, in victory and in defeat.

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

I leave with sadness, but also with pride,

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.

Pravin Tambe is bigger inspiration than me for young cricketers

Unwanted honking not only irritates others, but may also end up causing accidents. Drivers lose cool and it may result in road rage.

Tendulkar must have known from his heart

While I played Ranji Trophy for five years, I used to be asked, 'When are you playing for the nation?' - a question which I didn't have any answer to. I kept playing before I got my first break in 1996; those five years were indeed frustrating.

The bowlers I respected or feared or rated were not the ones who gave me lip or stared at me or abused me. More the ones who, at any stage of the game, when had they had the ball in hand, they were going to be at me, and they were going to have the skill and the fitness and the ability to be aggressive.

Reading allows me to recharge my batteries.

There is no substitute to taking a lot of a catches as a youngster if you want to do slip catching - you've got to catch, catch, catch. And more than doing the normal stuff, you have to vary your catching - you've got to take some catches with the tennis ball, you got to take some closer, some further away.

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

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.