How is your knee now? It's the other knee, not the one that went through the surgery. And even this time, you seemed to have bowled under a lot of pain (against England)...
I've reached a stage when even if there's the slightest of discomfort, it's easy to identify it. A slight swelling, the least bit of pain and you know that you need to get it checked. Playing at that level helps you immensely because the longer you play, the easier it becomes for you to connect with your body. After the Rajkot match, I could see a bit of swelling on the knee and I immediately brought it to the coach's notice and spoke to the captain. The better thing to do in such scenarios is to avoid any kind of risk.
In your case, injuries seem to be never-ending...
Bearing pain is the easier part. What I can't bear easily is the whole idea of having to stay away from action, away from my family, away from my team-mates, staying alone in hotels, recovering from an injury and waiting to get back.
This current Indian team continues to show a great deal of camaraderie. Does that help relieve stress?
Whether it was under MS earlier, or now under Virat, the best thing to have happened to this bunch is that we all stand by each other. It's all within the family. That's where life becomes so beautiful, these small things fall in place.
Did it take you time to settle down in this team? You seem introverted...
I remember the first time I walked into this team. It's a ritual that whoever makes it to the Indian team for the first time has to make a speech. I was a little nervous. Most cricketers have a very active social life and mine was completely different, coming from where I do. I remember walking up and saying something to the effect that 'I can't speak in English so it'll have to be in Hindi'. And the guys were like "toh isme kya baat hai". That whole feeling of being accepted so immediately was amazing. As far as MS (Dhoni) is concerned, it's like a father-son relationship. What more can I say.
You can swing old and the new ball, you can lead an attack, you are a natural at plucking wickets. But you never come across as a showman....
Just do your job and go home. That's what you're supposed to do. That's what I also believe in. I like to focus on work at hand. I like to stay a bit relaxed. Of course, when you plan a wicket and it works, then the joy is evident. Like it happened when I got Alastair Cook's wicket in the second Test (when the stump broke).
