Suresh Raina

“I will go for a simple girl who's completely in tune with me and who gets along with my family.”

“My job is to perform, enjoy cricket and thank God for whatever he has given me.”

“I am getting better at facing the bouncers, as I know opposition tries to use those as a weapon against me. Yet, no one is perfect, and he takes time to master a particular thing.”

“I am very close to my family. I have learned a lot from my father. He used to tell me to be honest with yourself and not to argue with your seniors. You don't need to be involved in any quarrel, as sometimes you need to remain silent intelligently.”

“It's always good to bat at the top, where you get more opportunities, but sometimes crucial 30s and 40s can be very helpful for the team. Ultimately it is a team sport. Personal records don't matter much if your team ends up on the losing side.”

“If you're successful, it's important to enjoy it! I love shopping for clothes, branded clothes. I love shopping in England, Dubai. I like to travel whenever I can.”

“I will never date an actor or a model. My family will never accept her. We are a middle class family, and an actress will never be able to gel with us.”

“Celebration is big for me. From my younger days, when I used to win mementos while playing basketball, I have always believed in sharing my success. It has to be there. It lifts the energy levels of the entire side if you are positive and vocal when a wicket falls.”

“I am doing everything to be fit - like not eating oily food, doing yoga, gymming and consulting my doc.”

“My aim is to play Test matches. For me, there is a different feel of Test cricket as it tests your character. You come to know about your mental toughness, and most importantly, there is another level of satisfaction as a player.”

“When you're successful, there will be friends, people, VIPs rallying around you. When you're down and out, you're all alone. That's why it's important to be a good person. Because whether you're a successful cricketer or not can always change, but the respect you earn by being the person you are stays with you.”

“What is important for me is playing cricket and not thinking about how my Test career is shaping up. I am not into future planning and all. I am concerned about my present and not the future.”

“I always want to be known as a good Test cricketer. I believe I have the ability to score big runs in the longer format. For that, I know I have to score heavily in whatever opportunities I get.”

“I have time only for cricket, and when I am not playing, I love to be at home, chat with my family, do puja with them, call for some yummy paani puri, etc. Also I love to cook. I can make dal, sabji and chicken! But, at home everybody's a vegetarian, so I can't cook non-veg at home!”

“I have always maintained that if you work hard, it won't go waste, as recognition will come to you at some stage, whether in studies or sports. You need to have good intentions and intent to move ahead in life as well as in sports.”

“I've always wanted to buy a sports car. After the England series, I went up to my dad and said that I wanted to buy a sports car and got his consent. On his birthday, I surprised him by bringing it home. It's a Porsche Boxter Limited Edition, and my family was thrilled to see it.”

“My father was in the army, and there wasn't too much money. Yet, we learnt to enjoy the small pleasures of life, to look at the positives.”

“For me, fielding is everything - it is a passion that comes from within. You can get a bad ball while you bat, and your bowling may not always be up there, but you are completely in control of how well you field.”

“I had a girlfriend when I was 17-18, and when she was 21, she wanted us to get married. I couldn't do that, because my game was my priority. We had to part ways, and there was no guilt because I had never committed to marriage.”

“I never have issues in handling the fame. I was in a boarding school, as I am from a middle-class family. We didn't have a lot of money, so we all learned to respect money and understood its real value.”