Isa Guha Quotes

I want to be a high-order batter in the one-day stuff, to play some long innings rather than just go in and have a swipe.

I have always liked to attack the bowlers, and batting is all about getting runs.

As an opening batsman, it's my responsibility to spend as much time in the middle as I can and try and get big scores in the first innings so that we don't have to bat in the second innings.

Runs are runs, even if they are coming off playing cut shots or in front, but it's not like T20 can only be played with big shots.

For an opening batsman, it's important to hit a few balls in the middle of the bat and get a few boundaries going.

In T20, even when you are in form and you feel like you are making good contributions, you are going to only face 30 or maximum 40 balls in the position where I bat in the middle order.

When I grew up, I tried to score off every ball, be it a 10-over-match, a 20-over, or even a Test match. If I stay in the wicket for, say, about 30 minutes, I want to make the most of it and score maximum runs possible. You never know when you get out; try to score as much possible before that.

If you ask me, a batsman has very few opportunities as compared to a bowler. A bowler knows, if he gets hit for a six or a boundary, he has another delivery left to get back and take a wicket. For a batsman, one loose shot, and you are out. A bowler will always have 24 opportunities.

During the peak of my career, I used to pick the ball as soon it was released from the bowler's hands. And I hit the ball through the line.

I love to score runs rather than defending or leaving the ball. That is an important aspect of my batting: I don't want to waste balls in any form of the game.

Obviously, when I go in at No. 11 it stands to reason that we will have a better chance of scoring runs or batting out time if the batsman at the other end takes most of the strike. That's because, as my place in the order suggests, he is a better batsman than me.

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.

In the middle order the game is a little more laid out for you, whether you are batting first or chasing down a score, so you are a bit more reactive to the situation in front of you. Opening up, it is pretty much a blank canvas and dependent on how you play.

Running-between-the-wickets is the ability to convert ones into twos, twos into threes, and threes into fours. And to reach the wickets on time.

Before the match starts I visualise that I will try to rotate the strike and take singles. But if I see that the players batting before me are struggling, and the wicket is not playing that good, I try to dominate from the first ball.

The fellows that I played with encouraged me to bunt and beat the ball out. I was anxious to make good and did as I was told. When I came to Brooklyn, I adopted an altogether different style of hitting. I stood flat-footed at the plate and slugged. That was my natural style.

It is scary when bowling how hard batsmen hit it now.

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.

I am not someone like A. B. de Villiers, Gayle, or Dhoni. I don't have that much power. I have to use my brain to manipulate the field and stick to my strength, which is to hit through the lines.

When you get into Indian top-order, you can wreak havoc. It's paramount to rattle the Indian top-order, otherwise, they can hurt you.

First six overs are important because if you put runs on board, it will take the pressure off the other batsmen.

Tillakaratne Dilshan is innovative and scores quickly, while Upul Tharanga is neat and well organised - and left handed.

I don't need to be going out reverse-sweeping for six and four straightaway. Singles can be just as important as boundaries, rotating the strike and not letting the bowlers settle.

The great thing about T20 is that it only takes one performance. One piece of individual brilliance can win a game and that can change the whole way you approach a tournament.

I have high expectations from Babar Azam and Imam-ul Haq.