You are not known to hang around and play a quiet innings.

• I’m learning it, and of late I’ve tried to bat according to the situation. I did that in the recent series against Sri Lanka — if you remember, we had lost two quick wickets before Yuvraj and I got together. Even in the England series before that, I was trying to last as many overs as possible and build my innings.

I’ve learnt to be more responsible now and I’m looking forward to give more examples of that on the New Zealand tour.

But your slam-bang style made you India’s only batting success on the 2003 tour.

• I don’t think I was successful. I didn’t score much in the Test matches — Dravid was the one who played well on that trip, unfortunately Sachin Tendulkar was injured and couldn’t play four of the seven one-dayers. Luckily, I got runs in three of the seven ODIs and was able to gain some experience in those conditions. I just decided to play my shots and put some pressure on the bowlers. It just worked for me.

There was a short break between the Sri Lanka series and the New Zealand tour. Did you spend your time preparing or opted for a break?

• I decided to take a break and get refreshed. I was following a strict fitness regime but will start my skill preparation — batting and bowling practice — once I reach there.

... contd.