"The reason why Indian bowling has done exceptionally well in this World Cup is MS Dhoni. When we wrote them off, he kept supporting them. When they were struggling, only he was standing by his bowlers."

"He has that uniqueness to respond to a tough situation with ease. He does not involve himself much emotionally, and that’s his quality. India are lucky to have a captain like Dhoni."

"AB de Villers is the most complete player of the Modern Era."

"“No dream is ever chased alone.”"

"“A career in sport is almost impossible to manage without the support, and guidance, and reassurance of family and friends. During tough times, and there always are, this is whom we go to.”"

"“You get an image in the first couple of years of your career, and then whether you like it or not, you are stuck with it for the rest of your life.”"

"“From a spinner’s perspective, in India it was never easy for me to judge where to stand: how far forward, how far back, because on Indian wickets the ball does not carry as much as abroad. That is true of slip fielding in general. I wouldn’t say only for spinner – even for a fast bowler, that holds true.”"

"I have the kind of personality that I always look ahead than look at what’s happened. It does help a lot, especially when you’ve done badly or you’ve failed. It’s instinctive of me that I look at what’s next, I look ahead a lot, and start preparing for that, in victory and in defeat.”"

"“I was in the hockey team in school, played football. One of the challenges for me was to make the team feel better. It helped me evolve, so batting at different positions was never a problem.”"

"“There are fans of Twenty20 cricket, and we need to ensure that we give them the cricket they want to see. We need to keep Test cricket alive, because there is a section of fans who love and worship Test cricket and have basically helped this game grow, and they are as important as anybody else.”"

"“I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people’s ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That’s the only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, temperament, these are also talent.”"

"I have failed at times, but I never stopped trying."

"I leave with sadness, but with pride: Dravid on retirement"

"No dream is ever chased alone. As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game which has always stayed with me"

"I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is an time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling."

"Look. You are not playing for Delhi, Punjab, Madras, Calcutta or Bombay; you are playing for India. You are Indian."

"On a treacherous wicket all the batsman can do is to watch the ball with all his might and let the bat follow the eye."

"He revolutionised cricket. He turned it from an accomplishment into a science."

"The game, whether it is called first-class or otherwise, is CRICKET, and any measure can only be a half-measure which aims at differentiating between the classes of cricket."

"It did dawn on me at the end of the series that he was something special."

"Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."

"I had to remind Gary Kristen often that he was in the covers to field against Sachin and not to applaud him."

"I am one of those fortune people who have seen Bradman and Tendulkar bat in my lifetime and in my opinion Tendulkar is the best batsman I have seen in my life."

"In the early years, especially around the mid 90s, I had this feeling you could play around on his ego and get him out. He believed he could attack bowlers at any time and anyone who could bowl maidens to him stood a good chance. Things are of course different now."

"I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I felt that this player is playing with a style similar to mine, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...his compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel!"

"I actually feel very embarrassed because I rejected him as a fast bowler. I think I did him and the game of cricket a favour."

"If I’ve to bowl to Sachin, I’ll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard."

"He is definitely someone who is miles ahead of his competition. In our days, cricket was played less, but in Sachin’s time, there is relentless pressure to perform. And the way he has carried on batting throughout his career is phenomenal. As for myself, I have many videos of Sachin’s best innings which I will watch from time to time to reminisce about his batting achievements when he has retired."

""Tujhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" (Hindi: "तुझे पता है तूने किसका कैच छोड़ा है?"; Translation: Do you know whose catch you've dropped?)"

"I have no doubt in my mind that he was the greatest batsman of the modern era and I don`t see another like him coming soon. It was a privilege to play against him."

"Certainly the best I’ve seen... People talk of (Sir Don) Bradman, but our generation and the ones immediately before us didn’t get to see him... Sure, he has an astounding average (99.94), but of the cricketers I’ve watched, Sachin’s the best."

"I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that’s going to be. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he’s 99.5% perfect."

"I didn’t see Don but to me, in all my years associated with the game, I haven’t seen a better batsman than Sachin Tendulkar."

"Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders."

"In cricket, my superhero is Sachin Tendulkar. He has always been my hero and will continue to remain so."

"We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will."

"India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing."

"“The last time I watched Sachin was last week when he was on his way to a spectacular 175 and once again I felt that I was watching a player who comes but once in a century. It can be said that he is the Bradman of our times and I do feel privileged to have played a lot of cricket against him,”"

"There is no shame losing to such a great player."

"I don’t think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar."

"With Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, it was better to be friends and make them smile rather than wind them up."

"Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time, the best player without doubt - daylight second, Brian Lara third."

"I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to breathe the same air as you do."

"We didn't see at that time and you cannot visualise 20 years down the track what the player is likely to do in the context of the history of the game. When you score as many runs as he (Tendulkar) has in Test and one-day cricket and score as many centuries and half centuries as he has done, it makes him arguably the greatest player ever in the history of the game. Statistics speak volumes of his contribution to Indian and world cricket. He is a phenomenal player."