Mohammad Azharuddin

It sounds sweet when, after a long time, people talk good about you, especially when you have done a lot for the country and played with distinction. It’s good; it’s a good feeling.

I always thought that I played better when I was the captain. If you look at my record during the six years I was captain – except for a couple of series – I did very well.

I want to improve cricket at the district level because lot of hardworking players come from districts. We have produced so many great players, but now we don’t have players in the Indian team. My intention is to work hard for the game of cricket.

After the match-fixing allegations, the one thing I had was patience. It took a lot of time for the courts to come to a verdict regarding the case. Sometimes, there were adjournments, but during that time, I had patience. We fought very hard, and finally justice prevailed, and we got the right verdict.

Allah is with people who show patience. If you are down in the dumps, Allah will help you if you have belief. But this is a personal thing between you and him. You can’t fool Allah.