How do you handle pressure?
If you are confident, then you can play any attack in the world. You just need to have faith in yourself. The reason I succeeded in Australia, who have the best bowling in the world, was that my confidence level was high.

Have you learnt anything from the Aussies?
I learnt a lot from Gilchrist and Symonds. I like their attitude, they don’t give up easily irrespective of the situation. The point I’ve learnt from them is to never give up until the last ball is bowled. Anything can happen in cricket.

How do you approach an innings?
I never stress myself when I go out to bat and I never think of a particular score or plan before taking a stance. I play the ball according to its merit and can switch tempo according to the situation. I usually try to spend some time at the crease and then play my strokes. I know I have the potential of clearing the fence if the situation demands it.

Is it easy to get carried away at times in this version?
I generally don’t get over-excited because I know the fact that one knock is not the end of the road. I follow Sachin Tendulkar in this regard, who despite scoring so consistently, is still hungry for more. Doing well in one or two innings doesn’t matter. You need to be consistent for longer periods as people don’t remember the number of innings you play but the number of years you have played. Since my debut, I’ve had a good time and now I want to utilise every opportunity that comes my way in the future.

... contd.