1. Harvard Business School
2. Stanford
3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
4. Northwestern (Kellogg)
5. Columbia
6. Duke (Fuqua)
7. Virginia (Darden)
8. MIT (Sloan)
9. University of Chicago
10. University of Michigan
11. UNC Chapel-Hill (Kenan-Flagler)
12. University of California?Berkeley (Haas)
13. Dartmouth (Tuck)
14. UCLA (Anderson)
15. New York University
16. Yale University (CT)
17. Carnegie Mellon
18. Texas-Austin
19. Vanderbilt (Owen)
20. Indiana University?Bloomington (Kelley)
21. University of southern california (Marshall)
22. Purdue (Krannert)
23. Georgetown (McDonough)
24. Rochester (Simon)
26. Wahsington univ in. Louis (Olin)
27. Michigan State University (Broad)
28. Ohio State University (Fisher)
29. Brigham Young University (Marriott) (UT)
30. University of Minnesota?Twin Cities (Carlson)
31. Rice University (Jones) (TX)
32. Arizona State University?Main Campus
October 6, 2008
Top Business schools in USA
Business schools ready to respond to change
Signals that the UK and US economies were heading for testing times recently moved from the fringes to centre stage. With established investment banks failing in both countries, some are questioning whether what was first believed to be solely a financial crisis may spread to the wider economy.
Business schools are making sure they are ready to respond and lead in this climate. Research will inform future policy to try and avoid a similar situation reoccurring. Through management education, like the MBA, leaders are taught approaches to cope with both today’s issues and future developments that will require new insights and novel solutions. A highquality MBA programme is one that provides an enduring education, through everything a graduate will encounter in their working life.
At times of economic difficulty a number of things happen to employees. Most obviously, some are made redundant and are presented with the opportunity to retake control of their careers. Others decide that its high time to move into a new area of working, enabled by an MBA programme. We also quite often see applicants with a great idea wanting to start their own small or family business – becoming an entrepreneur.
Overall application numbers to the full time Imperial MBA have risen over 40% on last year. The number of applications for the MBA programme from candidates with a finance background has increased this year. Most are still working in senior positions at reputable financial organisations but decided that it’s a shrewd time to begin a move out of finance.
A higher calibre of student is applying, suggesting that for those considering a place in a top business school – things are only going to get tougher in the coming years as competition for places increases.
The range of candidates is as diverse and colourful as previous years – something that Imperial has worked hard to establish:
A collaborative culture doesn’t just happen by mistake. We bring in the right applicants and encourage certain ways of behaving. We’re always looking for people who can work with others and who bring alternative views to any discussion or task. If a CV or application matches our cultural ‘wall paper’, it’s obvious. They are comfortable and capable of leading a group but also have the experience to know when to step back and support others. We don’t believe that a pool of piranhas is the best environment in which to learn and innovate.
Graduates tend to move into four broad areas: consultancy, service or manufacturing industries and entrepreneurial ventures. What all seem to share is an understanding of the importance innovation and discovery. The candidates that perform best on the MBA want to find the most challenging questions and embrace change. The reward is simple: a view of the world that will unlock value and generate the ideas, income and collaborations, so vital to a modern company.
It seems that regardless of where applicants are coming from, or where they want to go, one thing is clear. There’s never been a better time to invest in your own skills.
Mahindra to invest Rs 8 bn in used car business
Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd plans to invest around Rs.8 billion ($174 million) in its used car buisness being done by Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd (MFCS) under the brand of CarXSpace, a top group official said here on Wednesday.
“In five years time, we will open around 300 outlets across the country,” Rajeev Dubey, Mahindra group management board member, said.
A subsidiary of the $6.7-billion Mahindra and Mahindra, MFCS is in the space of servicing and sales of used cars and also spare part sales.
Inaugurating the company’s first CarXSpace outlet here, Dubey said the turnover of MFCS will reach Rs.65 billion by 2015.
MFCS may get into e-commerce mode by setting up a common platform for buyers and sellers, he added.
According to Dubey, in India around one million used cars were sold last year.
“The sales of car spares at the retail end is estimated to be around Rs.200 billion,” he added.
MFCS is also in talks with non-life insurance companies to offer cashless damage claims settlement for car owners.
COMPANIES FULL FORM
1. NIIT : Not Interested in IT
2. WIPRO : Weak Input, Poor & Rubbish Output
3. HCL : Hidden Costs & Losses
4. TCS : Totally Confusing Solutions
5. INFOSYS : Inferior Offline Systems
6. HUGHES : Highly Useless Graduates Hired for Eating and Sleeping
7. BAAN : Beggars Association and Nerds
8. IBM : Implicitly Boring Machines
9. SATYAM : Sad And Tired Yelling Away Madly
10. PARAM : Puzzled And Ridiculous Array of Microprocessors
11. C-DOT : Coffee During Office Timings
12. AT&T : All Troubles & Terrible
13. CMC : Coffee, Meals and Comfort
14. DEC : Drifting & Exhausted Computers
15. BFL : Brainwash First and Let them go
17. TISL : Totally Inconsistent Systems Ltd.
18. PSI : Peculiar Symptoms of India
19. ORACLE : On-line Romance And Chatting with Lady Employees
INFERIOR OFFLINE SYSTEMS
The Infosys board brings together a team of technology, business and social visionaries who provide direction to Infosys’ executive management in a dynamic economic and business environment. The board consists of senior officers of Infosys including all active founders, along with external members of the board who are global leaders and high achievers in business and society.
Independent Members of the Board
Infosys Executives, Members of the Board and CFO
Vision
“To be a globally respected corporation that provides best-of-breed business solutions, leveraging technology, delivered by best-in-class people.”
Mission
“To achieve our objectives in an environment of fairness, honesty, and courtesy towards our clients, employees, vendors and society at large.”
WHAT THEY DO:
Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY) was started in 1981 by seven people with US$ 250. Today, we are a global leader in the “next generation” of IT and consulting with revenues of over US$ 4 billion.
Infosys defines, designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World. Infosys also provides a complete range of services by leveraging our domain and business expertise and strategic alliances with leading technology providers.
Infosys’ service offerings span business and technology consulting, application services, systems integration, product engineering, custom software development, maintenance, re-engineering, independent testing and validation services, IT infrastructure services and business process outsourcing
.
Infosys pioneered the Global Delivery Model (GDM), which emerged as a disruptive force in the industry leading to the rise of offshore outsourcing. The GDM is based on the principle of taking work to the location where the best talent is available, where it makes the best economic sense, with the least amount of acceptable risk.
Infosys has a global footprint with over 40 offices and development centers in India, China, Australia, the Czech Republic, Poland, the UK, Canada and Japan. Infosys has over 91,000 employees.
Infosys takes pride in building strategic long-term client relationships. Over 97% of our revenues come from existing customers.
TURN OVER DURING 2007:
Infosys recorded a dip in their average per employee turnover to Rs 5.58 lakh and Rs 4.99 lakh, from Rs 5.85 lakh and Rs 5.35 lakh respectively.
FOUNDER: Mr NARAYANA MURTHY
CEO: Mr KRIS GOPALAKRISHNAN
COO: Mr Shibulal
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| DIV Yield | 1.93% | 1.93 % |
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RECORDS IN ODI FOR SACHIN
* Played more matches than any other cricketer (367 matches)
* Most Man of the Match (51) awards
* Appeared on the most grounds (90 different grounds)
* Most runs (14301 as of 16th September, 2006)
* Most centuries (40)
* Most centuries vs.Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, SriLanka and Zimbabwe
* First cricketer and fastest cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark, 11,000-run mark, 12,000-run mark, 13,000 run-mark and 14,000 run-mark in ODIs
* Only cricketer to cross 14,000-run mark in ODIs
* Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs as of September, 2006
* Highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs (as of 16th September, 2006)
* Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999)
* Holds the record for scoring 1,000 ODI runs in a calendar year. He has done it six times – 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.
* In 1998 he made 1,894 ODI runs, still the record for ODI runs by any batsman in any given calendar year.
* In 1998 he hit 9 ODI centuries, the highest by any player in a year.
World Cup
* Most runs (1732 at an average of 59.72) in World Cup History
* Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket Wold Cup..
* 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, highest by any one in a single Cricket Wold Cup.
PARTNERSHIP RECORD:
AC-VDCA Stadium 1st Wicket, Visakhapatnam in INDIA
26 runs with Virendra Sehwag against Pakistan in 2005
Bangabandhu National Stadium 4th Wicket, Dhaka (Dacca) in BANGLADESH
132 runs with Ajay Jadeja against Australia in 1998
Barkatullah Khan Stadium 2nd, 6th Wicket, Jodhpur in INDIA
2nd Wicket 114 runs with Rahul Dravid against Zimbabwe in 2001
6th Wicket 57 runs with Sunil Joshi against Zimbabwe in 2001
Boland Bank Park 1st Wicket, Paarl in SOUTH-AFRICA
258 runs with Saurav Ganguly against Kenya in 2001
City Oval 2nd Wicket, SOUTH-AFRICA, Pietermaritzburg in SOUTH-AFRICA
242 runs with Saurav Ganguly agaisnt Namibia in 2003
De Soysa Park 4th Wicket, Moratuwa in SRILANKA
47 runs with M.Azharuddin against SriLanka in 1993
Feroz Shah Kotla 3rd Wicket, Delhi in INDIA
175 runs with M.Azharuddin against SriLanka in 1996
Gandhi Sports Complex Ground 3rd Wicket, Amritsar in INDIA
40 runs with M.Azharuddin against New Zealand in 1995
Gandhi Stadium 8th Wicket, Jalandhar (Jullundur) in INDIA
48 runs with Rajesh Chauhan against SriLanka in 1993
Green Park 1st Wicket, Kanpur in INDIA
175 runs with Saurav Ganguly against Australia in 1998
IPCL Sports Complex 1st Wicket, Baroda in INDIA
153 runs with Saurav Ganguly against SouthAfrica in 2000
Kallang Ground 3rd Wicket, Singapore in SINGAPORE
143 runs with Ajay Jadeja against Zimbabwe in 1999
Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium 2nd Wicket, Hyderabad (Deccan) in INDIA
331 with Rahul Dravid against NewZealand in 1999
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium 1st Wicket, Bangalore in INDIA
169 runs with Saurav Ganguly against NewZealand in 1997
Nehru Stadium (Indore) 2nd Wicket , Indore in INDIA
199 runs with VVS Laxman against Australia in 2001
New County Ground 1st Wicket, Hove in ENGLAND
67 runs with Saurav Ganguly against SouthAfrica in 1999
New Wanderers Stadium 1st Wicket, Johannesburg in SOUTHAFRICA
193 runs with Saurav Ganguly against SouthAfrica in 2001
R. Premadasa Stadium 1st Wicket, Colombo in SRILANKA
252 runs with Saurav Ganguly against SriLanka in 1998
Riverside Ground 4th Wicket, Chester-Le-Street in ENGLAND
169 runs with Rahul Dravid against England in 2002
Roop Singh Stadium 2nd Wicket, Gwalior in INDIA
191 runs with VVS Laxman against Australia in 2003
Royal & Sun Alliance County Ground 3rd, Bristol in ENGLAND
3rd Wicket 237 runs with Rahul Dravid against Kenya in 1999
Sawai Mansingh Stadium 2nd, 4th Wicket, Jaipur in INDIA
2nd Wicket 117 runs with Vinod Kambli against WestIndies in 1994
4th Wicket 164 runs with Vinod Kambli against England in 1993
Seddon Park 4th Wicket, Hamilton in NEWZEALAND
99 runs with Sanjay Manjrekar against Zimbabwe in 1992
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground 2nd Wicket, Colombo in SRILANKA
154 runs with Saurav Ganguly against Bangladesh in 2004
INDIA 1st, 2nd, 3rd Wicket
1st Wicket 258 runs with Saurav Ganguly against Kenya in 2001
2nd Wicket 331 with Rahul Dravid against NewZealand in 1999
3rd Wicket 237 runs with Rahul Dravid against Kenya in 1999
mini interview of sachin
- Name : Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
- DOB : 24th April 1973
- Birth Place : Mumbai
- Sunsign : Tauras
- Team : India,Mumbai,Yorkshire,World XI,Rest of India
- First Class Debut : 1988
- Test Debut : 1989
- Most Remebering Day in Cricket : When 1st time seleted for the Indian Team,and when selected for the 1st test again Pakistan
- Worst Day in Cricket : Loosing the world cup semi final against Srilanka in 1996
- Heroes in Cricket : Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sandeep Patil, Viv Richards, Ian Botham
- Whose impact on you : My Brothers Ajit and Nitin, My sister Savita, most Mother-Father,Wife Anjali,My coach, Uncle and aunt Suresh and Mangla Tendulkar
- Favourite player from Today’s era : Brain Lara, Wasim Akram, Walsh, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble
- Players for Future : Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathore, Amol Majumdaar
- Your Aim in Cricket : To score lots of centuries and to play as many as test and one day
- Favourite cricket Ground : Sydney Cricket Ground and Eden Gardens
- Least Favourite : None
- Complaints With Cricket : We should play more tests
- What should be done to improve cricket : Should be played in more countries and its popularity
- Most funny moment in Cricket : In 1990 when Narendra Hirwani came to bat at Old Trafford. Azhar gave him a new bat. The 1st ball he played with that bat was from Cris Lweis and the bat breaks into two pieces.
- Most Embrassing Moment : Third match against Newzealand in 1994 at in Cricket Wellington.The situation was tense so I told Ankola not to bowl any no balls or wide balls. I took a very good catch of Danny Morrisson and in excitement I threw the ball in air with. Batsmen still ran 2 runs- actullay the Umpire declared that ball as No-ball which I didn’t heard
- Hobbies & Intrests : Collecting Watches ,Perfumes, good clothes and CD’s
- How you wanna u spend your spare time : With my family
- Which Other Sports you like : Tennis
- Which Other sports personalties you like : Maradona and John McEnroe
- Favourite Actress /Actor : Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Demi Moore
- Favourite Serial : None
- Favourite Movie : God must be crazy
- Favourite Music : Michael Learns to Rock, Eagles ,Michael Jackson
- What you hate? : Selfish and cunning people
- Cars : Mercedes Benz C-36, A.M.G Sports
- Favourite food : Anything made my mother
- Favourite drink : Cold Water
- Favourite place for holidays : Goa
- Favourite Hotel : Taj Hotel,Goa
- Favourite Restro. : Vintage and the Great Wall,Mumbai
- What type of cloth likes to wear : Jeans and T-Shirt & according to the occasion
- Newspaper : Mid-Day, Afternoon, Times Of India
- Favourite Author : I don’t read much!!
- Favourite magzine : Sportstar
- After Cricket : Some bussiness related to Cricket
- Motto of Life : Be true to yourself
sachin’s latest interview
The unexpected shower hasn’t helped. And that the rendezvous is not much of a landmark doesn’t make things any easier. “It’s the new MCA [Mumbai Cricket Association] stadium at Bandra Kurla,” Sachin Tendulkar had explained. Now here, half soaked, at a stadium which is an oval patch of flaming green with labourers pottering around and a tin-roof shed, which I share with some masonry troupe, I am not sure this is what Sachin meant. After 15 minutes of worrying and then putting my mind to rest by another call to the Tendulkar home I see him kitbag and entourage in tow. Whew! “Should we get started?” he says, asking at the same time if I’d like water or tea…
You are in great form. The shoulder injury seems history. Nevertheless I am sure you realise that the time has come to make retirement plans.
The injury was blown out of proportion. It was less than five months that I hadn’t played and people were writing my obituary. I knew all along that I’d get back with full force. And the reason behind my implicit faith is that I’ve never thought beyond cricket and playing for India. Yes, maybe retirement is round the corner but I just can’t get myself to think or plan about it. It muddles me. Somehow I am programmed only to think cricket. Right up till the very last time I walk out on the pitch my focus will only be cricket. Once I retire I should be content. Not repentant that in those crucial final years my focus was elsewhere. I don’t want to retire with the feeling that in wasting time planning life post-retirement I missed out on bigger cricketing achievements. Now in fact is the time for me to focus like never before. Also cricket is forever evolving so it’s not that difficult. In ’89 when I started out, cricket was different and I don’t know what might change next – I cannot lose focus at all to keep in step with the game. Let my agents look after opportunities beyond cricketing years while I play.
Are you saying that you don’t spare a thought for your endorsement deals, your restaurants and probing other business propositions?
You may not believe me but the answer is no. Where Tendulkar’s is concerned, yes, I was involved in the launch phase. But again the extent of my involvement was in ensuring the restaurant is a reflection of my tastes in food and d�cor. But beyond that no, not at all. I do go there when I have the time because it’s my kind of place and I like it. But I will not get involved in the details. If it makes a profit I will not work on doubling the returns and if it makes a loss I will not sit with the management and work out a revival strategy. I won’t. To do that I have hired agents, partnered with people proficient in these matters so that my focus is 100% cricket. Even in my endorsements – all preliminary work is done by my agents. I don’t get involved at any stage and they only bring things up to me for the final call. I have to ensure my focus is uni-dimensional, and that is cricket
Surely at times you feel a sense of power beyond measure? Your endorsements are heftier than even Amitabh Bachchan’s. Global icons like Michael Schumacher and Dire Straits are your admirers…
I have never been after power. It means nothing to me; being recognised, being paid handsomely… I don’t allow things outside of cricket to affect my psyche. And that was ingrained in me right at the start. My family grounded me; they never allowed success to go to my head. If there was an achievement we would all be happy, there would be a small celebration but it would never be loud. It was like a lesson on how to dilute the heady feeling of success. The talk in the house, after the pat on the back, would immediately be of the next goal. My father would close the earlier chapter and look at the possibilities ahead. Similarly my brother, who saw the spark in me and merged his goals with mine, was a huge driving force. Whenever I scored it would be what’s next, he wouldn’t go gaga, and that set the boundaries for celebration. That helped me a lot, really. If I play well automatically my focus is on the next 20 overs, the way my father would want it to be. Half my life I have been playing for India (takes a few seconds to calculate) nearly 55% of my life. Things have not happened overnight, it has taken long… There’s a saying, which probably explains me the best, ‘even if you are on the right track, you’ve got to move on’. I might be on the right track at the right place but my endeavour is always to move forward.
Your dream was to play for India and you’ve more than lived that dream for over 17 years. What keeps you going now?
Yes, I have lived my dream, my dream to play for India. When I was in school and my brother would coach me I would ask him, “When will I get to play for India?” I was so young, I didn’t understand what playing for India meant and it was more like a nursery kid saying he wants to be a doctor. But from the day I picked up my bat my target was to play for India. And there was a second goal, to play as long as I could. It’s that second goal that keeps me going, and with it the benchmarks that keep changing. When we were in school the benchmark was [Sunil] Gavaskar, all good and bad was measured against him. From thereon it’s been a wonderful journey… I crossed the 34 100s benchmark set by him. What also keeps me going are the people around me who’re just as involved in my game. When I was yet learning the ropes there were days when I wouldn’t show up for practise and Achrekar Sir would come all the way from Shivaji Park looking for me. He’d find me and then take me back on his scooter. Behind my achievements have been tremendous efforts by Sir. Similarly my family always prods me on such that I never lose focus. My father, despite being a professor, accepted my passing marks knowing my focus was cricket. He would also ensure the right environment for me to grow as a cricketer; so right from the start the talk at home would always be cricket. Even today we rarely discuss anything else…
Is Anjali okay with talking cricket 24/ 7? Does she understand that she comes second after cricket?
In 1990 we met for the first time and yes, then she didn’t know A, B, C of cricket. But 17 years is a long time to learn. She understands the game completely now and is very involved. In fact, more than my skill being put to test when I bat it is her nerves that take the strain. She gets really tense and can’t move; she doesn’t even drink water or eat while I am batting. She has played a momentous role in my life and I can’t imagine an existence without her. She is the only one who understands me, she knows when I am stressed, when I am happy or when I am disappointed and knows just what to do. I share all my thoughts with her since she is my support system. Coming second to cricket? I think she has tolerated it all. She is a gold medallist pediatrician but she’s given up her career for me. It’s not easy handling the pressure that comes from being my wife, handling the home front since I am always travelling, bringing up the kids… She has never complained.
I am sure your children are not as understanding…
I think I make an ok father, I am not strict at all and more like their friend. I try my best to spend as much time as I can with the two of them. I realise that it’s important that I am a part of their childhood. But they know that my priority is cricket and I have to sacrifice their time for it, and they seem to understand. Sara will soon be nine and is quite mature, never complains. But Arjun is not yet seven and often gets upset. Each time I have to go away he becomes quiet, or doesn’t talk to me normally. He tries to cope with life without me but not without putting up a fight. This time he told me that he is tired that I am always going away from him and he’ll lock all the cricket stadiums so I stay home. I’ll make up to him though…
Do you feel then that there’s too much cricket these days? Giving players no time for family… And do you find the time to head to London as you generally do?
I have always said that the emphasis should be on quality and not quantity of cricket. There has to be enough time in between to recuperate such that players can perform to the best of their ability. Yes, for me that recuperation time is generally in London, we were there for six weeks this summer. I like going there since I am allowed to breathe. I mean, people do recognize you but they let you lead a normal life. And I need that.
GOD OF CRICKET
There was a time when watching Sachin Tendulkar was exciting. Today it is a joy.
The free spirit is now the senior statesman in the team with new priorities and greater goals to achieve.
But that has not taken anything away from his batting prowess and his insurmountable achievements. His 141 in the second one-day game at Rawalpindi was one of the better one-day knocks witnessed in Pakistan.
After returning to Pakistan, the country where he made his Test debut 15 years ago, it has been a dream come true for Tendulkar to be part of the first Indian team ever to win a cricket series in Pakistan in more than 50 years.
Two days after the historic win, Tendulkar spoke to Assistant Editor Faisal Shariff about the one-day series and his goals.
The Indian team has time and again repeated that this is just another game of cricket for them, but do you feel that extra edge when playing Pakistan?
Of course, it is a little more than playing anyone else. You realise that this is special when the calls from friends and well wishers increase. It is no doubt more challenging and more of a pressure game than playing any other country.
But eventually it is a game of cricket. My point of view is that when I am playing cricket I cannot think that this game is less or more important. I want to give my six hours of serious cricket on the ground and then take whatever the result. There will
always be expectations, but then you can’t do much about it.
You had sleepless nights before the game against Pakistan in the World Cup. How many sleepless nights have you had here playing back to back matches against Pakistan in Pakistan?
It has been very good here, but the World Cup game was different. It had a different significance to it. It was a crunch game for us because before that we hadn’t done well in the World Cup.
This is obviously a big tour for us and I am happy we have been well prepared for it. The Australian tour was good for us; it was ideal preparation for us. We spent four months together and that really helped. As a team we figured out our strengths and weaknesses. It has been a very exciting tour, there is pressure and there is the joy of victory. But this tour will not match the World Cup game.
How has the experience been so far with regard to the cricket?
It has been great. It has been a collective performance from the team. And that is the reason why this victory is great, because different players have made contributions to the win. Someone scored a quick 10 runs, someone got a run-out and the team clicked as a whole unit.
Peshawar was a different track and the toss was crucial, but other than that the whole team played well.
How would you describe the catch you took to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the final game?
It was a crucial catch. I had it at the back of my mind that he had played that shot before in the first one-dayer in Karachi and in the fourth one-dayer in Lahore. I was ready for that catch, hoping that Inzy would go for the shot again. Inzy is a great player who can just take the game away from you. His wicket was very important.
How is the Pakistan bowling attack as compared to the bowling attack you played 15 years ago?
This is a good bowling side with a good blend of youth and experience. Shoaib Akhtar has been playing for 5, 6 years and is an experienced bowler. Along with Mohammad Sami and Shabbir Ahmed they form a formidable team. Saqlain Mushtaq has done well against us.
But the attack in 1989 had Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. That attack was more experienced. Imran Khan did not become Imran Khan overnight. He worked hard to become a legend. Wasim and Waqar were amazing bowlers. I would put them right up there with the best in the world.
Does the 136 you scored in Chennai play at the back of your mind on the eve of another Test series against Pakistan?
Before coming here I had a minor back problem and I thought whenever I play Pakistan I get a back problem. Why is that? But thankfully it has settled down now and I am fine. Even in South Africa during the World Cup when I played Pakistan I had a back problem and so also in Chennai.
But that defeat still is a huge disappointment for me.
You have more runs than anyone else in international cricket. What is your ultimate goal?
There is no set goal. There is no target as such. I just keep it simple. Watch the ball and play it on merit.
I have played for 15 years and it has been a dream. I always had a dream to play for India but I never let it put pressure on me. I never let it affect me; instead I kept positive thoughts and made sure that I have something to show. I have never thought where I will go, or forced any targets on myself.
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