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I would have loved to have been a cricketer.

I wanted to be a cricketer. But I was not skilled enough to be a national-level cricketer.

I moved to cricket at a time when I was at the peak of my career, and I can guarantee you that no one else from Bollywood would have done that.

I cannot think that I am a good cricketer and just become one. For this, one needs skill.

It used to hurt me that people thought I didn't have the technique and the temperament to play Test cricket.

It was a personal decision for me to stand and say that cricket is all I have in life, there's 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.

I have played cricket on my own terms.

It was only after I made my Duleep Trophy debut did I think I had a realistic chance to play for India. I scored a double hundred, and I realised that I had the potential to play for my country because I played the best bowlers in the country at that time.

I was a keen sportsman, and became school captain in soccer and cricket.

Geez, I just played cricket because I loved the game. I never thought about it much, never really had any formal coaching.