K. L. RAHUL

I respect Test cricket a lot. Once I got into the Test team, I learnt so much about international cricket and realised it's not so different.

I have delivered sometimes, and the other times, I have not. I have taken it in my stride as a player and learnt from my mistakes.

Having to play Test matches for a month and then switch to T20s in five days is not easy, but that's the kind of challenge I love to face.

My only sentiment is to win.

I am a sporty person who loves to go to the gym, train, play football.

I have always been someone who takes things as they comes.

For me, aggression means not to be shy and to do what your mind tells you.

It's a team game, and you need to be flexible.

I am only trying to improve as a player with each tournament, each game, each opportunity.

When I came into Test cricket, I was good but not as good as I am now.

You need to be ready to bat, whatever you are given; you have to take what is thrown at you.

For anybody, faith and belief are everything you have. Nobody gave me the India cap; nobody taught me to go and get runs. It's a belief I had in myself.

While growing up, I used to go to the beach, as I used to find peace there.

Playing Australia, of course, is always challenging.

I would like to improve my shot selection when it comes to playing short-pitched deliveries.

Whenever I get opportunities at the top of the order, that's the position I enjoy.

I obviously respect the opportunity I have got to play for the country.

For somebody like me who doesn't bowl, it's important to contribute in the field, and I've worked hard on that, slip catching.

I've been consistent in all the three formats, and that's what I want to do as a cricketer.

Earlier in the shorter format, I was not consistent, so I was not getting noticed. But I always believed that I had the game to do it. It was just about consistency.

If you are batting first as an opener, you give yourselves a couple of overs, see what's the wicket behaving, and then try to assess what a good score on that wicket would be, and then you plan accordingly.

Sometimes, you tend to hold back, maybe because you have lost a few wickets or something. But when I bat, I'm never shy of doing what my mind says.

Every innings is important.

After junior cricket, if the team wanted me to keep in a one-off/odd match or if anyone got injured, I was up for it. I kept in One-dayers and T20s.

When kids are 15 or 16, they should be playing more sports. I played football, basketball, cricket... Name any sport, and I played it.