Shikhar Dhawan Quotes

It was only after I made my Duleep Trophy debut did I think I had a realistic chance to play for India. I scored a double hundred, and I realised that I had the potential to play for my country because I played the best bowlers in the country at that time.

If a player is playing IPL and earning money, it's not his fault that he's not playing for India. He is not quitting. He is playing first-class, one-day cricket and IPL. If selectors don't pick him, what can he do?

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 learned a lot playing in domestic first-class cricket: how to score runs, how to counter situations.

It's good to draw spectators to the grounds, but I don't think Twenty20 will help you produce good Test cricketers.

The last three-fours years which I have been playing domestic cricket and international, I learnt a lot. I wouldn't say it has been great or fantastic, but it has been a roller-coaster journey.

When you play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, you face the same bowler next year. But when you play in IPL, you face bowlers of different calibre.

Ranji Trophy is a great experience for youngsters.

We think it is a really important part of your journey, as an international player, that you come in and you want it to feel like it's the pinnacle of the game. That you want to come back into that environment. You don't want to think, 'Well, I'd much prefer playing for Sussex,' or your county.

I am a kid who played university cricket, so to be around international cricket is a blessing.

The West Indians and Pakistanis play one-day cricket so well because they play for English counties.

I am obsessed with cricket. But to be honest, I prefer the IPL format to test matches.

Test cricket is the only thing that counts. One-day and T20 performances are fine, but you rate a player by his status as a Test player. By the time I finish, I want to play at least 80 Tests and be known for my achievements in Tests.

Equally, though, there are guys who play England Under 19 who don't even play First Class cricket. It is a watershed in the careers in many ways.

With just about every player in Australia, his whole goal and ambition is to play for Australia. That's why they're playing first class cricket. It's just a different attitude.

When you're a kid, you dream about playing cricket for a living, playing for your county and then your country.

I want to be part of the team that wins a Test series in England and Australia.

During the time I didn't play for England, they were losing Test matches, and the Yorkshire committee were telling me that I should be batting for my country. Then, when I decided to make myself available to play for England again in 1977, and Yorkshire lost a couple of matches in my absence, they criticised me for not being there.

When I was growing up, I played a lot of ten- and 12-over games, and I would bat in the middle order. I got only ten-odd balls to face, and I tried to score as much as I could. I applied the same approach in domestic and international cricket, and people were appreciating my strike rate being more than 80 or 90 in Test cricket.

Players like Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Warner, Glenn Maxwell were noticed at IPL first. It is a platform for players all over the world.

I didn't watch a Test match live until I played in my first in 2003.

My dream is to play Test cricket.

I love playing England. The teas at Lord's are good quality.

The All-Star Game was one of my top highlights as a player. In my eye, it gave me a good idea of where I ranked among my peers. That was always my benchmark to say that I am still in the upper echelon of players.

When I came to Under-19, I played a lot of cricket and got a lot of experience. Then India A as well, and Ranji Trophy - it just keeps going on.