Maturing with every match

In the first two matches in Pakistan, there was no chance for the bowlers, whatever you bowled. It was a different experience. I would say that tour was the most difficult tour for me, not in terms of getting wickets, but because of bowling on those pitches. One needs to see a fair game where good batting and good bowling is encouraged - something like Australia, where everyone gets help. The matches India and Pakistan played were something which nobody had seen earlier.

I thought I bowled well in the Test series against England, just that I didn't get the wickets I deserved. Some catches went down too. Still, eight wickets in three Tests is not satisfying. I knew wickets will come but didn't know when. The first one-dayer against England at Delhi was very, very important for me. It was important to get back my confidence. We had been dismissed for just around 200 and it was a crucial time to bowl. After many days, I felt so good. It was great to be back with those five wickets.

I enjoyed myself. I got wickets in the first three one-dayers and didn't in the last two. I was quite happy with my bowling rhythm. The ball was landing where I wanted it to and was doing what I was trying. I only got a few wickets but sometimes you bowl well and don't end up with too many. My economy rate is less than 3.6 in the last 25 games which is a big achievement for me, especially considering that I've bowled in the powerplays.

It's something that people have made up. When I made that statement, I wasn't complaining. I was just saying that it's different bowling with the SG or Duke compared to the Kookaburra. That story got blown out of proportion. I did badly in two games and people began relating everything to the ball. Even today I say, it's a different ball but I am not complaining. I took eight wickets in Jamaica last time with this same make of ball. I took 11 wickets in this Test series with the same make of ball. We play a lot in India are used to playing with the SG. Shane Warne plays mainly in Australia and when he comes to India he says the SG is different. It's bigger. So there is no big story there.

In both ODIs and Tests, if you go into a defensive mode, it will be tough for you to survive. You have to be attacking. I don't change my line much. If you don't attack then the batsman will attack you. This is my theory. If I am bowling in an ODI, I know the batsman will come at me. My job is to bowl good balls. If you are bowling dot balls, that creates pressure. It's the same in Test cricket also; build the pressure, bowl maiden overs and try to get wickets.

Yes, I am not the same bowler what I was four years back. I am learning in every match [that] I am a different cricketer. When I started my career, I was trying to cement my place for the next match. Now my thinking is that I want to play longer and win matches. The team looks up at you because they know I have done it and they know I can do it. So with time your responsibilities change.

I know what I do now. During the Australia series in 2001, whatever I was doing, it was working. The Australia series was the turning point of my career. It gave me the self-belief that I can do it - that when I do this, that happens, when I bowl there, that will happen. Before that I had never taken five wickets in Test cricket. In that series I took five wickets, got a hat-trick too, I took a total of 32 wickets in the series. I was in a daze; I didn't even know when the series [was] over, because whatever I was doing was clicking; catches being caught, the ball pitching where I wanted to. That series gave me the self belief. The confidence went to another level and the hunger kept increasing.

I have to accept that nobody in Indian cricket has achieved what Anil Kumble has. I know if one spinner has to play I will have to miss some matches. It is always challenging. When you are not playing and then suddenly get a chance, you want to do well. It's fun when there is a challenge. I feel privileged I get to bowl with such a great bowler from the other end. I get to learn a lot from him.