Masters of Vision

Interview

Dedication to his craft:

It’s a great feeling when you go and spend four hours training after leaving the house at dawn, not necessarily feeling your best. You might not want to go to practice, but you’re training your mind to cross hurdles. And you feel like you’re achieving something every day. It helps you on — and off — the field. When you’re faced with tough situations and you don’t have a track record of overcoming things you don’t like doing, you’re going to get beat. You make you own luck.

Honing the skills:

I set small goals throughout my career — I didn’t just set out to break records. I never really felt like I was the greatest player. You’re always under construction — there’s always some hurdle you have to overcome. So I do a lot of practical preparation. 80-90% of my focus is mental. Just sitting in my room, working out exactly what’s going to happen, play by play. Where I want to be, what the opposition will do. I try to work through every possible scenario.

Desire deep within:

Competition is just in me. It’s a combination of passion and a drive to always want to do better than before. I feel so inspired when I walk into another team’s stadium. Knowing that the crowd is against you. Going against someone of equal talent. It’s like a war — and I like winning those battles. I thrive in competitive situations.

A family affair:

We were a huge family from a small village. I was always playing games with my older brothers. You have to compete for everything: for the bat, for the ball — for lunch and dinner. My sister Agnes was much older, so she sort of acted like a second mother. She saw an ad in a newspaper and told my dad that I should go to a training clinic. My drive came from my family — they saw my talent and always made sure I had the tools to succeed. My dad lived vicariously through his sons. He loved cricket, and passed that on to me. I valued his support so much, we set up a foundation in his name to provide scholarships to less fortunate kids.