Anil Kumble

“As a coach I need to organise preparations for the team and give informed input to captain and the team to strategise better, inclusive of every player.”

“Having been with the Indian team for such a long time and having had various experiences of not just conditions, but outside the cricket field, when you're a coach, you're not just coach on the field but also off it. You're trying to build personalities, trying to build leaders.”

“But yes, I'm going to miss being a part of the team, sharing a dressing room, playing a test match, all those kinds of things.”

“My basic strength has been accuracy, line and length and I've always worked on that. I knew that would hopefully never leave me. Even if I don't bowl for three months, the first time I go out I would still be able to land it on the spot.”

“If you are the top bowler in your team, you need to get the top batsman in the opposition. So it is expected and people just highlight that particular bit and make it sound like it is gamesmanship.”

“I like a challenge. Captaincy has always been a challenge for me.”

“I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn't make himself visible. Exactly how I'd like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.”

“It is challenging at times, especially while I am travelling, but my training gear and sports shoes are among the first things that go into my suitcase so that I can get in a good work-out session wherever I am.”

“I don't think expectations will change as a player or as a captain. We have discussions and people who have played the game for long definitely express their views in a team meeting and I don't see that changing much. But the expectations would be to ensure that we are consistent.”

“There were many batsmen who were very difficult to bowl at. Brian Lara was probably at the top.”

“But one thing I would like to certainly clarify that I am no player-manager, nor is my company a talent management company. That needs to be very clear.”

“Aggression is not just the emotion that you show on the field, but at the end of it, you have to ensure that you play the game aggressively and the ball has to do the talking.”

“I generally try to bowl one-on-one with the 'keeper and bowl all the deliveries in my arsenal so that he can have a good look.”

“I played a lot under John Wright, he's been a great influence on how I'll go about the job, in terms of being in the background. When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work.”

“This is my belief, whether its practice, a match, or whatever - your mind has to be ticking all the time. As for the team, yes, it needs an overall vision, for the same reason, because it gives us something to work towards.”

“I have always believed that the first Test of a series is very crucial.”

“The coach's role is in the background; it's the players who come first. I am ready to take this role.”

“I have been a player and now I am the coach, so I understand both the roles well.”

“I've played my cricket very sincerely and honestly, that's the approach my team takes, and we expect that from Australia as well.”

“There have been a lot of doubts created by people about my career. But I didn't have those doubts, nor did my team members, nor my family.”