00:00You know, India winning the World Cup, I mean, it still gives me, you know, goosebumps, still
00:10brings tears to my eyes. Till Rohit gets a hundred, I'm not going to eat gulab jamun.
00:14So, I'm just giving an example. And gulab jamun might be that person's, you know, favorite
00:18weakness, biggest weakness. But till Rohit gets a hundred, he will not have it. And Rohit
00:25may never meet that guy ever in his life. Tell me this, you say that you enjoy watching
00:30cricket now more than ever, right, before. Why is that? Is it because the game has evolved
00:35and there's some new technology, new rules, new formats, which some people would say has
00:41changed the game not for good? Well, I think, obviously, there are going to be, you know,
00:44the connoisseurs of the game are not very happy with the latest format, the T20 format.
00:49I think it has energized the game. I think it has brought new shocks in the game. The
00:54reverse sweep, the switch hit, the scoop, the ramp shot, you know, you name it. The
00:59bowling is also the slow bounce on the back of the hand, the knuckle ball. There are so
01:03many more, you know, things to cricket than when we played. And I do believe that the
01:08cricket is, you know, far more entertaining now, simply because of the influence of limited
01:13overs cricket. Earlier on, you left deliveries outside the off stump, you know, quite a lot.
01:18Now that doesn't happen. So, maybe you don't get too many guys scoring 300s. But, you know,
01:24there is pretty much, you know, a boundary and over or, you know, something or very few
01:28made in overs today. Look at the fitness of the players. Look at the agility of the players.
01:33Look at their athleticism. What's not there to enjoy about modern day cricket? It's a
01:38very, very entertaining game. And even test cricket, now you get results. You know, there's
01:43barely a drawn test match. That will be only because, you know, weather has, you know,
01:48washed out a couple of days play or something like that. So, I think it's just very, very
01:54entertaining, very, very enjoyable. So, I love watching it. As a spectator, as a former
01:58cricketer, I just love watching it. Anything that you feel is missing on the field
02:01that was there when you used to play? I think maybe the electricity which is there
02:12now wasn't there, you know, when we played. Because there was a certain, you know, relaxed
02:18air about test cricket when we played. It was still competitive.
02:21Yeah, and very intense. Yeah, very intense. There was no quarter given,
02:24no quarter asked for. But there was just a slightly relaxed air about the game. I think
02:30now there is lot more electricity, you know, lot more activity, lot more, lot more intensity
02:38if I might say so. So, I think, I just think most of the changes have been positive. I
02:47can't really think of anything that you could say, you know, is not great for the game.
02:52No, I don't think there's anything. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses
02:56of Virat's team? There's possibly, and the opening needs to
03:00be a little more strong. Now, the South Africa series has given us a Rohit Sharma at the
03:05top of the order. It's also given us Mayank Agarwal who has consolidated his place as
03:11an opening batsman. I just think that, you know, there is no apparent weakness in this
03:18Indian team. There were five wonderful players with somebody like Jadeja now taking his batting
03:25seriously and therefore making a regular contribution with the bat 50s, 60s, 70s. So, that is there
03:34and then at number seven, eight we have an Ashwin and a Saha. So, our batting, you know,
03:40has depth. It's also got variety in terms of bowling. You've got, you know, depending
03:44on the pitches you can have two seam bowlers and three spinners or three seam bowlers and
03:49Jadeja and Ashwin. So, I think that way, you know, the Indian team is well covered. I can't
03:55see any overt weakness in this, in this Indian team. The only thing that you can possibly
04:04say is an area which has been there since 1932 is where Indian bowlers have not always
04:11been able to take numbers 8, 9, 10, 11 out quickly. Even in 1932, the first ever test
04:17match that we played, we had five England wickets down for I think, if I remember rightly,
04:22now we are going back, you know, almost a hundred years ago. I think we had first five
04:28English wickets down for something like a hundred and then the last five wickets added
04:32another 150 or 200 to take England to 300 and therefore, so, which was happening regularly.
04:38And the only explanation that I have is that, you know, sometimes the non-regular batsmen
04:43don't get as close to the ball and therefore, play and miss, play and miss, play and miss
04:47and they, you know, it's like frustrating. While the batsmen, being regular batsmen get
04:52closer to the ball and nick it and get caught. So, but that is an area that India can do
04:57something about where I think, you know, a genuine, genuine quickie, somebody like
05:03a Bumrah with the yorker and bouncer combination as well as the variety that he has should
05:07be able to blast 8, 9, 10, 11 out or a very good leg spinner. A very good leg spinner
05:16is always tempting because leg spinners generally, you know, get through 8, 9, 10, 11 very quickly
05:21because batsmen at that stage aren't able to pick the googly or with the tossed up ball
05:26or wanting to go for the big hit because they are not regular batsmen. So, if India
05:30can get that, then I think India will have a complete team.
05:33Now, Rohit Sharma was here in Singapore last year and you know, when I was talking to him,
05:36he said that at the beginning of his career when he used to face the Aussies, it was a
05:41bit overwhelming. You know, these six footers charging from all sides and he said it did
05:45get overwhelming and they don't keep quiet. So, they are talking at you and you know,
05:49on all of that. You never had that problem, did you? A six foot eight inch guy never could
05:55racket you and nobody can fathom that what that atmosphere would have been like, the
06:01one that you played in.
06:02I think I, you know, luckily in my case, I had the ability to shut everything off. Having
06:09said that, I have to say that there wasn't that much chat when we played. Very, very
06:12seldom was there. You know, somebody who got, you know, tried to get, you know, we didn't
06:17have people really having a go at you.
06:21Really?
06:23Yeah, which is the reason why, you know, when the Australians are talked about, I say, but
06:27you know, when we played there was very little that we heard. Okay, there was the usual encouraging
06:32each other which happens but saying something to you directly was something that, you know,
06:38we didn't experience. And again, you know, I think my strength has always been my concentration
06:46and therefore when my concentration was, you know, I mean, was there, whatever happened
06:51around me didn't really matter. Even today, if I am in a room and the room could be full
06:57of, you know, maybe 20, 100 people and there is a lot of noise going on. But if I am reading
07:02a book, I will be able to read the book without being disturbed by the noise around me. It
07:05could be just next to me. And I think that's God given this concept.
07:09And do you think fearlessness and courage is the biggest virtue for a player because
07:14you have had that in abundance?
07:16I think you got to have self-belief as well. You can be fearless but along with it I think
07:23you got to have a little bit of self-belief. You got to have a lot of common sense as far
07:27as cricket is concerned. And I think if you have that then you will be able to handle
07:31yourself in most situations whether you are a batsman or a bowler.
07:35You have always said that 83 was the most unbelievable moment. Is it still something
07:41up there that doesn't kind of compare to anything else?
07:44I don't think it matches it. You know, India winning the World Cup, I mean, it still gives
07:50me, you know, goosebumps, still brings tears to my eyes because, you know, it's the greatest
07:57moment of my cricketing life. I mean, obviously, becoming a father, becoming a grandfather,
08:02you know, those things are, it's a different emotion.
08:04Indian fan is incredible. The love that you get from the Indian fans is incredible. Sometimes
08:10they can be demanding because they invest so much.
08:14Their emotions in you. And, you know, I think we are blessed to have that kind of, you know,
08:21that kind of a following. That kind of a following where people do all kinds of, you know, mannats
08:25if you might say. So, that, you know, okay, till, say for example, till Rohit gets a hundred
08:30I am not going to eat gulab jamun. I am just giving an example. And gulab jamun might be
08:34that person's, you know, favorite. Weakness, biggest weakness.
08:38But till Rohit gets a hundred he will not have it. And Rohit may never meet that guy
08:44ever in his life. But he has got that guy who feels so much for Rohit that he is prepared
08:50to sacrifice. I am giving Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli's name as just an example.
08:54And that is the kind of blessing that Indian cricketers have. That they have these unknown
08:58fans who they will probably never ever see, who are praying for them, who are wanting
09:03them to succeed. And in the success of the Kohli's and the Sharma's and the Ashwin's
09:10and, you know, the Pujara's lies the joy of this unknown fan. And I think that is India,
09:17Indian cricket's greatest blessing.
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