5 greatest quotes by an Indian cricketer

Indian cricket, over the years, has been a scene of several incidents. Reactions to those incidents have been different, in different cases.

Some have been open about it, some have found ways to describe them, and some others have simply chosen to remain mum about it.

Here are five instances when Indian cricketers came up with the best replies when asked about a particular query.

Note: The instances are views of the author alone. Several other quotes have also been said that have been equally impactful

5.MS Dhoni on the day of his Test retirement

No one saw it coming. Neither his teammates nor the opposition. Even the media, who seem to gather inside information from all corners, could not see MS Dhoni quit Test cricket in the middle of a series and walk away.

But that is how it panned out on the 30th of December 2014, when the wicket-keeper batsman called it quits from the longest format of the game.

His final press-conference turned out to be a post-mortem of the Test, and his final quote, however, symbolised anything but that.

When asked about why he thought there was such a vast difference in the lower-order batting between India and Australia, he replied,

"Now even PETA has said that you can't cosmetically remove the tail"

4.Rahul Dravid after the spot-fixing scandal in IPL 2013

Rahul Dravid was not one to show too many emotions during his career.

The right-hander always looked at the game as a contest meant to be played on the field, and once done, to be left there.

However, during IPL 2013, when three of his players in the Rajasthan Royals were charged of spot-fixing, even he could not keep his emotions at check.

"I would not lie it was a very tough phase for us. It was a blow to the team. It's something I have never experienced anything like it. It's like bereavement in some ways," Dravid had said at the time.

3. Sachin Tendulkar after breaking Brian Lara's record for most Test runs

October 17th 2008 will go down as the day when one man broke a barrier and made the pedestal so high, that it became almost impossible for the others to reach.

On a sunny afternoon in Mohali, Sachin Tendulkar went past Brian Lara's record for the most number of runs scored by any player in the history of Test cricket, when he glided a Peter Siddle delivery past third-man.

After the day's play, the right-hander was asked to comment on his feat and this is what he said.

“People throw stones at you and you convert them into milestones.”

2. MS Dhoni after losing to South Africa in the 2011 World Cup

In India's run to the 2011 World Cup win, there proved to be just one minor glitch, which was a loss to South Africa at Nagpur.

Batting first, at 267-1, the hosts looked good to post a big score.

But then, disaster struck. Gautam Gambhir fell, and the rest fell as well, like nine-pins.

India lost their last nine wickets for 29 runs to get bundled out for 296 and eventually went on to lose the game.

At the post-match presentation, a miffed MS Dhoni had this to say:

"What is important is you don't play for the crowd you play for your country,"

1. Virat Kohli's on Sachin Tendulkar after winning the World Cup

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When India won the 2011 World Cup, it was seen as the last monument to scale for Sachin Tendulkar, who had come incredibly close in 2003, only to fall at the last hurdle.

After winning the Cup though, a number of players referred to how emotional a journey it had been for them and how it was almost as if they had won it for Tendulkar.

Virat Kohli, though, described it better than any other player:

"Tendulkar has carried the burden of nation for 21 years; It was time we carried him"