'I'm still hungry to represent India'

How has this IPL season been different from previous ones for you?
As an opener, as a senior member in the side, I really want to win this tournament. I have been working on setting a good foundation and trying to see if I can bat through the innings. My role hasn't changed very much over the seasons. I have settled into my game very well right now. I have a lot of confidence in my skills. For me, right now, it is to repeat those things and align them with my role in the side and my goals.

In the 66 innings in which you have opened in the IPL, you haven't scored a century. Is that at the back of your mind?
I believe it [a century] is right round the corner, simply because the last four years I have spent restructuring my game, and I think I have gradually improved every year.

People who know me [have noticed] how aggressively I used to play in the past, and now, with a proper technique, I have come really close to how dangerous I was in the past. To be aggressive, to be consistent, to be a game-changer, to be a match-winner, has been my focus over the last couple of years. To be the impact player for this side - and I am doing that to a certain extent. I don't think the hundred is too far away.

In these 66 innings, your strike rate in the first 40 balls is 126. However, you have managed to play more than 40 balls only nine times. Could that be one reason why you have failed to get a century?
Oh really? It is good to have numbers like these as it gives me a deeper perspective of where I am heading.

In comparison, Rohit Sharma, who has opened for Mumbai Indians in only 16 innings so far in the IPL, has already batted for more than 40 balls six times. He has faced 80 balls (and scored 151 runs) after the first 40 as an opener. You have faced 85. Do you reckon one factor could be the role assigned to you?
I don't go too much into the stats because what matters is if the team is winning or not. When each member plays their role according to the plan set for them, you end up winning a lot more. When you win you don't really worry about how you have done individually. Of course, I want to improve my performances. I have set a few standards for myself and these stats only help me in driving more towards what I need to work on, but making sure that I stay aligned to the role defined by the team.

You can't be selfish in this form of cricket?
You can't do that. It does not serve you. It does not serve the team. But as someone who sets standards for himself I definitely want to have a hundred.

The openers have dominated the tournament this season. You are No. 5 on the run-makers' list. Is it any different from the previous seasons?
There is a lot more responsibility on an opener. If you see the guys in the top order, a lot of them are senior members or captains of their teams. People who are able to take that pressure are actually guys that bat up the order and do well. I want to take the ownership to make sure I set my team up to win. If I perform my role well, if I can bat through the innings or bat through 80% of the innings, I know that is really setting up my team for victory.

What kind of insights has Jacques Kallis, Kolkata Knight Riders' coach, given you about your batting?
I have discussed a lot of my game with Jacques. He knows all my check points - head position, body weight, how stable I am while playing my shots, what are my strong positions, from where do I play my best shots - basically about weight transfer.

I got a lot more from Jacques once he became the batting consultant last year. He keeps it very simple. If someone like Jacques tells you that you are doing everything right, you are doing everything beautifully, and when he calls you one of the best batsmen technically in the country, that gives you a lot of confidence. He said, "If you ask me personally, you are one of the best, if not the best, out there in the country right now."

For someone like me, who has restructured his batting and has been able to bring back the domination over the bowler, to score runs at will, that is a huge compliment. And coming from Jacques, arguably the best allrounder in the world, man, that is huge.

Have you talked to Kallis or Simon Katich, the assistant coach, about their experiences in long-form cricket?
I asked Katich what he used to do in the off season. He said he went and played any level of cricket - grade, club, first division, second, third division. I asked him about club cricket in England and Australia. He said, "I would go and play third-division cricket, but I was just focusing on what I needed to do, just reapplying my affirmations to myself, my technique to myself, which gave me a sense of confidence. It got a lot firmer. I was able to do it with a lot more control. It only added value when I went back and played a better grade of cricket."

Are you aware that you are second overall in the list of most runs scored in the IPL and sixth in terms of most T20 runs?
The second one I knew but not the first. It is a proud feeling. But it is one thing performing at this level. The standards and goals I have set for myself are truly at the international level. I still haven't lost any hope. I still believe I am fit enough, I am strong enough and ready enough to play international level. I am waiting for that good opportunity. You want to be recognised for your performances. You want to be playing strong international sides, because that is what you are prepping yourself for. Honestly, that is what I am looking forward to - a good run. I believe I have stacked enough good performances to be playing in the main side. I believe I will have my time under the sun.

The Indian selectors will soon choose the team for the limited-overs series in Zimbabwe in June. Are you confident of being picked?
Yes, I am. I have proved my mettle a lot. I just need a good string of opportunities. I have never played in one batting position for India in more than three innings. Give me ten, seven, five games in one position. I promise you, you will not need to change me from there. The last time I played for India, in Zimbabwe [last July], I batted at Nos. 3 and 5 in the ODIs and No. 3 in T20Is. And I am an opening batsman. I open through the year. The positions keep changing.

MS [Dhoni] said this recently: When you jump from domestic to international cricket, it is a jump in the level of cricket. Even when you come down from international to domestic cricket, it takes a while to adjust. You need to give a player, whether he is a youngster or someone making a comeback, the chance to perform. You can't give them two chances. You need to give him five or six [at least].

Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] said the same thing a few months ago. I completely agree with him. For a person to justify his consistency in the international arena, you need to give him a certain number of chances at the higher level.

But you cannot talk to the selectors directly?
Karnataka did not qualify for the knockouts in the last Ranji Trophy, but I was the second highest run scorer in the league stages. [Still] I did not get picked for the Irani Trophy. For me, playing Test cricket for India is a goal, but if my performances are not going to be taken note of, then you start wondering where things are going wrong. You are left wondering where you are heading. You are not growing as a cricketer. I am still very hopeful and hungry to represent India.

I have won matches for my country and I know what that feels [like]. Four years ago I probably was not equipped enough to do that. But today I am equipped, fit, strong, scoring, consistent enough to do that. I have shown it in IPL, Champions League T20, domestic cricket. When I played for India A the last time, in India, against New Zealand, I got 103 in the first, 12 in the second and 46 in the third one-dayer. In 2014 in Australia, for India A, was the only bad tournament I had in the last four years. In Zimbabwe last year, I top-scored in the T20Is. After that I have not been picked again.

What if the selectors were to tell you that they are only looking at you as a limited-overs player. Would you accept that?
I would look at that as an opportunity to grow into playing Test cricket. If you look at the Indian Test team right now, you need someone in the middle order to score quick runs. Virat [Kohli] has been saying the same, so his bowlers get enough time to bowl the opposition twice. Although I am an opener, I have been trying to bat in the middle order for Karnataka. The aim was to face the second new ball. I want to adapt myself to any position the team requires me to bat at. That is what I tried out last Ranji season, where I also kept wicket in alternate matches, but it did not work out as it was hurting the Karnataka team balance.

Being married to another athlete - your wife, Sheetal, is a former India tennis player - does it help?
Being married to an athlete is quite different. She picks you up when you are down. She motivates you when you are lazy. There are a lot of pros. Marriage has really settled me down, given me a sense of grounding. It is a responsibility that I am enjoying.