Jumbo Takes Off

On the decision to quit at the Kotla:

• It’s tough when you’ve played 18 years of international cricket. But Delhi has been really special. I have some fond memories, personally and also as a team… we’ve had a fantastic record here. But the body was asking questions every day. It was not easy to keep bowling the way I have been bowling the last 18 years, to keep going. Probably the injury that I had on the third day helped me make the decision.

On how he broke the news:

• I informed my team mates one by one during the day. Then I informed the chairman of the selection committee just after lunch. I informed the board as well. At the end of the day, it is important for the people who matter the most, they needed to know that this would be my last game.

On all the criticism:

•Criticism is a part and parcel of any sportsman’s life. I don’t think I took this decision based on people saying whether I should play or not play. This criticism started 18 years ago, when people said I couldn’t play two Test matches for India. I’ve done pretty well, looking back.

On whether he’ll play the IPL:

• IPL is a contractual obligation I have with my franchise. That’s something on which I’ll take a call when I get there but at this point in time I am obligated to play the IPL. In terms of international cricket and first-class cricket, I think I am through.

On the phases in his career:

• I had to go through a lot of things in the early part of my career. People questioning me, about my ability, my fitness, my form, my bowling and my effectiveness. I had to go through that then, now right at the end of my career, and even in the middle. In that sense, after the shoulder surgery, I’ve done exceptionally well to have played eight years; to have bowled so many overs and to have got so many wickets, the second phase was certainly more satisfying. We had a lot more victories, not just in India but also abroad. Especially the Aussie series in 2004, the Pakistan series after that, West Indies and England, where we won. All those were a challenge and to come out triumphant was special.

On his biggest strength:

• My self belief. The fact that I had a strong belief in my abilities and the team knew exactly what I was capable of. People within your dressing room need to respect you, the opposition needs to respect you, who you are as a person and who you are as a cricketer. I can proudly say that I have given my 100% right through my career. The last five-six matches I played, things have not gone my way personally. The Sri Lanka series could have been different but over the last six-seven months we have shown a lot of resilience and are the only team that are really competing against the Aussies.

On the finger injury:

• I don’t know how I cut myself. It was a pretty nasty cut. Pretty deep, you could see the flesh. There are 11 stitches. The doctor said that I had to undergo the procedure under general anesthesia. I did tell him, ‘if you give me general anesthesia I’ll lose time, I’d like to go there and bowl.’ He said ‘look, it’s a medical decision, not a cricketing decision.’ The stitches will only come out on November 8, which would be the third day of the Nagpur Test. I wouldn’t have been 100% and I didn’t want to let the team down. Anyway, I had more or less decided this would be my last series. I took a call last night that it was time to leave.

On how he’d like to be remembered at the end of the day:

• I’d like to be remembered for giving 100% for the team every time I went out there. The new generation of cricketers will take Indian cricket ahead. That’s what sport is all about. When you play you want to better what your predecessors did and it’s the same with the next generation. We have an opportunity to dominate world cricket and be No 1 in all forms of the game. In one-day cricket we’re pretty close to the top, in Twenty20 we’re No. 1, I don’t think we are that far behind in Tests either. That’s how I would like to be remembered, as someone who raised the bar for the team.

On the final call:

• The body tells you how far you can go. As a cricketer you are always competitive, always saying, ‘I can do it’… whether you can or not only time will tell. I kept fighting. I kept getting responses from the body saying that you can’t. I fought that, I took various painkillers and tried all sorts of things but ultimately one injury to the hand said ‘enough now.’

On captaincy, and final words:

•I’m lucky I at least got to be captain. At this moment I would like to thank my family, my parents, who gave me all the encouragement, supported me; my elder brother, who asked me to bowl leg-spin… I am still trying to find out how to do that. My wife and kids who have been a great support. It’ll be nice to spend some time with them. They’ll have to get used to seeing someone who they don’t see that often. It’ll be good to go back home.