Cricket is a team game. No individual can just say he can win it on his own.

Every team goes through a lean patch.

Imran never lost faith in us as players, individually and as a team, and that gave us the confidence to win. He was a leader par excellence, and Pakistan have seen none like him.

The pressure of an India-Pakistan game is immense.

Being chief selector has been the most challenging role of my cricket career, as I was heavily criticised for my decisions, and I couldn't respond much.

I can't leave cricket. It is my passion.

As chief selector, I did my best to pick new talent and give them proper opportunities, as they are the future of Pakistan cricket.

It is not my domain to speak on pitches, but they play an important role in producing quality players in every format.

Once you start feeling the pressure, you start to struggle. That is the beauty of Indo-Pak cricket contests.

Regardless of where we play, we should play India on regular basis.

Throughout my career, we beat India in many matches, but for some reason, we never managed to get the better of them in World Cup matches, and it remains a disappointment for me.

The pressures of playing in the World Cup are different, but it was because we coped with them in 1992 under Imran Khan's guidance and influence that we won the Cup.

I don't have a magic wand, and there is a lot we need to do right in Pakistan cricket to build a strong team.

I have told the PCB that I want total independence to work with a free mind and pick the best players, and they have assured me it will be done.

I have one regret that whenever I look at the list of world's leading scorers, I don't see any Pakistani who has scored 10,000 Test runs; even I couldn't do it ,nor Muhammad Yousuf.

I think fitness and performance levels are the right indicators to determine if it's the time to leave the scene.

What I intend to do is to launch a batting academy. I have been a batsman throughout my life, and I can't open a bowling academy after all!

I am happy and satisfied at the end of my career, but not much. Yes, I would have loved to leave the stage in a better way.

I wanted to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. But I could not.

When I look back and think about it, I feel my career was fairly good but, certainly, not tremendous.

Critics tend to praise as well as crucify you.

Even a good batsman requires a year or so in test cricket to settle down and play long innings.

Once you reach the knockout stage of a World Cup, the team that holds its nerves wins.

How well a team executes its plans is important, but I think keeping nerves under pressure is far more important in the knockout stage.

Frankly speaking, the pleasure and satisfaction you get after performing against India you don't get against any team, and if you ask the Indian players, they would have similar sentiments.

If someone drops a catch, and I get angry, will that catch come back to us? It won't. Therefore, it is better to be cool, because that helps in better performance.

If people remember me as one who contributed to Pakistan's cricket, I will feel good. If people say good things, it makes me feel happy.

I control my anger.

Any team can't give top performance all year round.

I am a great admirer of Yuvraj and Kaif. They have generally been able to pick up the scoring when they come to bat at numbers six and seven. They also are livewires in the field.

I'm ready to accept the pressures of captaincy.

I am not a big supporter of sledging or insults that are hurled at you. But I don't mind if a bowler glares or stares at the batsmen. During my career, I have faced these situations numerous times.

Off the field, both India and Pakistan enjoy a healthy relationship, and that's the way it should be - friends off the field and fierce competitors on it.

Even after defeating India, I still have the highest respect for them as opponents.

In 2004, we were in a rebuilding phase after the disastrous 2003 World Cup campaign, and the batsmen, in particular, did not know where they would bat or what was their role. For example, in the one-dayers, we were playing Shahid Afridi on top of the order, but we didn't consider him for the Tests.

I have never forced anyone to offer prayers in the team or to keep a beard.

If someone says to me, 'You are a cheat, and Pakistan is doing wrong things,' my first priority is to my country.

It is imperative that Afghanistan cricket does well. You cannot imagine how passionate Afghanistan's fans are and how they live and die by every result.

I do think the ICC has financially helped Afghanistan and Ireland a lot, but I think it's crucial that the ICC provides these Associate nations with quality coaches to work on their basics.

I remember, before the 2003 World Cup, I worked extremely hard on my fitness. A great deal of training and dietary discipline. I believe I lost 19 kg. And 19 is the number of runs I scored in the entire tournament.

I coached Afghanistan for seven months. Out of those, I spent five and a half away from home.

Against any team, confidence is crucial.

Sometimes we need to make changes in the XI as per the conditions, and as per the player's form.

My career has been as clear as a crystal.

Whoever you name as captain, it's a hard choice.

All successful captains in the world have had long-term roles to make a difference.

I won't say I have won many matches, but I used to take care to just do my role.

Trust yourself in tight situations, but you need to have a plan. You might fail once, twice, but you will get better at it.

It is never easy for a professional cricketer, who has represented his country for 17 years, to forget the past and adopt a new lifestyle.

We have to keep our feet on ground, stay humble, and collect all praise, well-wishes, and prayers because these will help us in future.