‘I believed in performance. I never picked up the newspapers to see if I was picked for the Duleep Trophy or Deodhar Trophy matches for East Zone. For me, it was more about playing cricket, enjoying cricket. I knew if I’m good enough I’ll get a chance and for that I have to be consistent. In my mind I was very clear that if they don’t give me a chance for Duleep or Deodhar Trophy, it doesn’t really matter–I’m happy playing for my state. If I can play consistently well for my state, that’s good enough for me because I love playing cricket more than anything else.’ (Cricinfo, 28 March 2008).
