Will somebody get this guy out of the hall? Don't be ridiculous. Don't ask such ridiculous and silly questions. These sort of statements are just bad for the game.

- When asked if he thought Pak took money to lose the 4th 0DI vs. India in Lahore.

It feels fantastic to lead a side that has won a first Test match in Pakistan.

- Rahul after winning the 1st Test vs. Pak in the Samsung Cup 2004.

There is immense pressure on families and they have to sacrifice a lot. We get the accolades but they often face the negative side of it.

- Rahul on his family’s support.

Sportsmen don't spoil their schedule for shooting ads and it takes just one day to shoot an ad but is shown hundreds of times on television.

- Rahul defends cricketers' endorsements.

My mum, who was a big influence in my early days, and of course my wife, who is very supportive. They can take all the credit.

- When asked about the woman behind his success.

It's people nitpicking and trying to find faults with the greatest batsmen in the world. I'm sick and tired of hearing these things. Absolutely ridiculous.

- When asked if Tendulkar only performs in unimportant games.

The last one, Glenn McGrath.

- When asked which was the most important wicket when India bowled out Aus for 93 to win the Mumbai Test in 2004.

I have been married for a year now and I must admit that my female fan following has drastically reduced ever since. But seriously speaking, I think lady luck has played a big part. May be it has something to do with the sanctity of marriage.

- When asked how his life had changed after marriage.

This is a singular honour, the finest of my life.

- On receiving the ICC 2004 Cricketer of the Year.

If I had realised the match would have ended on the fourth day, I would have let him complete his double hundred. But no issue in the team. The way you [the media] bring it up all the time.

- On the Multan declaration.

NO WAY! That's not my cup of tea.

- When asked if he had any offers to join politics.

It's best to be yourself and love what you do and be responsible. If that happens success is coincidental.

- His advice to youngsters

 

I idolised Sunil Gavaskar for his flawless technique and powers of concentration, Gundappa Vishwanath for his brilliant stroke-play and Kapil Dev for bowling in tough conditions and maintaining high levels of fitness.

- On who his cricketing heroes were as a teenager.

I have realised that you have to keep your cool no matter what. If I get after him, he has six chances to take me out, and he can keep coming back, whereas if I make one mistake then I am out, and I am sitting in the pavilion watching him on television.

- On how he manages to stay focused after being sledged.

 

I was a bit disappointed, sure, but not all that much. In the sense, I was happy I scored 95 runs, I looked at it as a cup half full, instead of half empty.

- On missing a century on Debut at Lords.

Up until now I have not really had the same recognition as Sachin and Sourav, but then again they have performed better than me over a longer period of time.

- On the fact that Sachin and Saurav enjoy a bigger star status than him.

He is quite clearly the best. He is going to go down as the best of this era and of many more. He may ultimately have the same impact on the game as Bradman.

- On Sachin Tendulkar.

The media is like the public. If you are doing well, they will place you up there with the immortals but the moment you do badly, they will pull you down. That's the law of life, I suppose.

- On the unforgiving fans and media in India.

I am a firm believer that the human element is a very important aspect of the sport. In the end, we are all trying to do our best. During key stages in a match, the human emotion is going to show up.

- His thoughts on sledging.

We depend on Sachin but we don't depend too much on Sachin, there is a difference. He is the best batsman in the world. He could get into any side in the world today and he would be the most important member. And every side depends on its most important member.

- When asked if India depend too heavily on Sachin Tendulkar.

My parents have been very encouraging and supporting of my cricket. They never forced me to play cricket or forced me to do any particular thing. They saw that I had an interest in cricket and they never discouraged me.

- On how his parents encouraged him to play the game during his formative years.

Once we finish playing cricket, we wouldn't have learnt any other skills to really survive in the outside world. Considering this short career stuff, it's important that there should be money in sport, and I don't think that our competitiveness ever gets affected. I think in a way it might even enhance our competitiveness.
- On the allegation that Indian cricketers are not competitive because of the huge amounts of money they make.

I've never aspired to become a captain of any particular team. I've other goals and ambitions. Becoming a captain has never been my ambition. I mean, if it comes along then that's great.

- When asked if he aspires to captain India.

 

I always treat nets as a match. Driving and edging in the nets is not okay with me.

- On how he practices in the nets.

 

The birth of a child is a happy moment in anybody's life. Becoming a father is an absolute special feeling. It was a special moment and when I saw the emailed photographs of my child, I felt very emotional. This was the best week of my life.

- Rahul on the birth of his son.

 

Vijeeta is a professional in her own right, a surgeon, and she's taken time off, given it a bit of a break to be with me, something that I really appreciated. We've travelled around the world together, seen many things and that's really helped in the understanding. It was a completely new experience obviously and very, very different from being single and travelling with the guys. But it's been very nicely different.

- On wife Vijeeta.

 

Building a team is as much about finding the right people as it is about not having wrong people around. You don't want people whose own insecurities drag everyone else down. That can be a big dampener in teams. If you're going to spend time always having to cajole and look after a few people in the team, you're doing a disservice to the rest because you're wasting too much time and energy in a few people who're taking away from the group.

- Rahul on building his 'team'.

 

Tough, competitive - a team that is looking to improve and have fun along the way. Not taking things too seriously as at the end of the day it is sport and we must have a lot of fun and must play it hard.

- Rahul on what kind of team he would like.