Anil Kumble

Cricket has always been about using street smarts and putting the opposition under pressure, on the field and off it.

My basic strength has been accuracy, line and length and I've always worked on that. I knew that would hopefully never leave me. Even if I don't bowl for three months, the first time I go out I would still be able to land it on the spot.

No matter what, I was always looking for a wicket. Whether I was bowling to restrict or bowling to get wickets, at the back of my mind, I always had the thought that I wanted the wicket.

When I first played, I had the belief that I could go out there and win matches but when people saw me first I don't they had the belief. I had to be able to be able to prove, to tell them you can count on me.

No matter where I end up in terms of wickets or the number of matches that I play, I think people will always remember me taking 10 wickets. So it is something that is always going to be special for me and for Indian cricket.

If you are the top bowler in your team, you need to get the top batsman in the opposition. So it is expected and people just highlight that particular bit and make it sound like it is gamesmanship.

The way I handle it is by preparing for any match in the same way. I stick to a routine and I stick to it no matter whether I am playing a Ranji Trophy game or an international game.

Yes, you have to treat playing Pakistan just like you would any other side, but in other matches, you often stress on the processes knowing that the result will take care of itself. Against Pakistan, the result is more important than the process, and that is the simple truth.

There is a vast difference between playing Pakistan at home and away. I clearly recall, going into the quarter-finals at the Chinnaswamy stadium in 1996, that the pressure eased a bit when I stepped into a stadium where I had practically grown up as a cricketer.

As a player, one has to stay positive, and embrace the pressure rather than give in to it.

What we tend to forget in a skill-based game, is that if you start paying too much attention to mind games, you'll get into all kinds of avoidable issues. It's not easy to ignore them, but you have to try.

It is a cliche to say that you need to take 20 wickets to win a Test and it is the bowlers who get you the 20 wickets.

An Indian captain is a friend, guide, philosopher to the players under him.

Captains realise over a period that if they plan right and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, luck attaches itself to their side.

I have always felt it is better to lose in pursuit of victory than to kill a game with defensive tactics.

It is true that when you're defending a target, you tend to be more ruthless when you're defending a lower target than a 300-plus one because you have the comfort of runs in the latter case.

But yes, I'm going to miss being a part of the team, sharing a dressing room, playing a test match, all those kinds of things.

You need the other team to be feeling the heat when they walk on to face you and that only comes from their being wary straight off of your dominance on the field of play.

The coach's role is in the background; it's the players who come first. I am ready to take this role.

Having myself bowled in the early stages of the innings, with field restrictions in place and two men perforce required in catching positions, I know what it takes to bowl on unresponsive tracks against quality batsmen.

Cricket is all about looking out for your mate and playing as a unit.

When I was a player I used to feel that you are the captain of your own bowling, which I would like to try and inculcate, especially in the bowling group. That is important. All of them must believe that they are leaders.

I have been a player and now I am the coach, so I understand both the roles well.

As a coach I need to organise preparations for the team and give informed input to captain and the team to strategise better, inclusive of every player.

There have been a lot of doubts created by people about my career. But I didn't have those doubts, nor did my team members, nor my family.

I believe that any ball can take a wicket.

Yes, you'll try and set up a batsman and get him to play a few shots. It's just that you are always trying to play a mental game with the batsmen and as long as you are doing that consistently throughout the day and keep asking questions you are bound to be successful.

All these years I have spent bowling have helped me understand the game better.

I became captain after playing 17 years for India so probably I became captain by default because nobody else wanted it.

As a bowler you are not a hero, you are always backing a hero but you need 20 wickets to win a Test match.

In India you pick teams based on pitches, so it's the bowlers who get changed. if it is a turning pitch a fast bowler can't play, and if it is a green pitch, a spinner can't play.

I am not someone who goes through emotions; but it is always tough when your time is up and you know that you have to give up something which you have loved and played for all these years.

If I am trying to set up someone then I might go up to the keeper and say that I might bowl down the leg side. That's where you feel that if the 'keeper has a longer stint, he will read you better.

I feel the only way you feel the pressure is when you think it is an important match or series. If you feel that every time you go out into the middle the match is important then pressure ceases to exit.

Everyone in India wants the team to beat Pakistan, just as everyone in Pakistan wants their team to succeed. It's one match where the result matters, not really how you play.

I think it's important for every individual to have a vision, to have an aim. If you don't have an aim, you don't think; if you don't think, you can't achieve.

It will be wonderful to get into the Indian dressing room as the coach. I am really looking forward to the challenge and the huge responsibility. I know there will be a lot of expectations and that is something which I am looking forward to.

But one thing I would like to certainly clarify that I am no player-manager, nor is my company a talent management company. That needs to be very clear.

I like a challenge. Captaincy has always been a challenge for me.

At the end of the day, the bowlers have to get 20 wickets to win a Test match. I'm sure they do have a little bit of brains to get those wickets.

I have always believed that the first Test of a series is very crucial.

Aggression is not just the emotion that you show on the field, but at the end of it, you have to ensure that you play the game aggressively and the ball has to do the talking.

I played a lot under John Wright, he's been a great influence on how I'll go about the job, in terms of being in the background. When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work.

I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn't make himself visible. Exactly how I'd like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.

Having been with the Indian team for such a long time and having had various experiences of not just conditions, but outside the cricket field, when you're a coach, you're not just coach on the field but also off it. You're trying to build personalities, trying to build leaders.

Getting 20 wickets in test cricket will win you matches and that will be the focus.

If it was a very senior team you can sit back and strategize. But for a young team you need be in the middle.

I generally try to bowl one-on-one with the 'keeper and bowl all the deliveries in my arsenal so that he can have a good look.

One thing I will ensure is that whether we win or lose, the fighting spirit should always be there.

I think each one has his own style. I think, with me, I have always commanded the respect of my captains and I have always set my own field.