Hard work, not natural talent, has made me - Rohit

October 2013 to October 2014, there have been so many ups and downs ... How would you sum up the last year?
Yes, you are right. The whole year has not been so great. Not just for me, but also for the Indian team. We did not do that well outside India. But see, as a unit - it's a young unit - I think a little more time is required for the team. I am not talking about any individual. I am talking about the whole team. When you consider the whole team's performance, it's importance to give a little more time, a little more exposure.

I understand whenever we go out and play [badly], people start talking about [our poor record] abroad, how we're going to play. I understand that it's your point of view but it was important for us to go and learn how to play outside India and the kind of mindset you need. It was a good learning experience for all of us. A couple of times we came quite close to winning a Test match. In England, we won a Test match but then lost our way. That's as far as the team is concerned.

Personally, I wouldn't say it was disappointing, but yes I was a little upset with my performance. I have never put my head down and I will never put my head down. I will always keep learning. That's what I have been doing. I am in good space for my cricket right now. So, the mental aspect of my cricket is very good. It's just that I am coming back after an injury so, I will be a little nervous to see how I bat and how I play. That's all. Nothing else. I have learnt a lot in this one year. We had three tours abroad and we didn't have much cricket in India. It was a good challenging year. I have learnt a lot from these tours and I want to put all that I have learnt into my game whenever I go there next time.

You said you were upset with your performances? Was it due to lack of opportunities or due to your shot selection?
It is not about the shots. Not at all. That's my natural game and I will back myself to play my natural game any day. With those shots even if you get out, I will never mind getting out like that because that's my shot. When I clear the fielder, it is a four or a six and everybody claps. That's not an issue.

Yes, lack of opportunities I mean… yes, everything was to do with team combination [in England]. We wanted to play five bowlers, which meant one batsman had to sit out. And it was only between Ajinkya [Rahane] and me. And AJinkya had batted really well on all the previous tours abroad and he deserved that spot. He batted well in the Test matches as well. I am really happy with the way he batted. For him, I am personally very happy. But yeah, I can't do much about it… I got only one game. I was trying to learn as much as I could, I was practising hard. My focus was only there. But when you don't get the opportunities, you can't do much about it. You can only sit and learn and hope your turn will come soon. I was trying to do all of that. Now I will be looking forward to the Australia tour.

Now that he has replaced you as an opener in ODIs, do you have a healthy rivalry with Rahane?
There is no rivalry between us. It is only from the media from where this is coming. In my absence he is opening. This is not really a big issue. In previous times, when Sachin did not play, someone else had to open in his place, so did you ask the same question to him then? I have been injured and out of the team and someone else has replaced me in that position. I don't know why it is such a huge debate. Nothing is going to happen. It's going to remain the same. My focus right now is about injury and how I should come back. That's the important factor right now.

How did you deal with yet another freak injury?
Mentally it's very frustrating. What can you do... When you play well and get injured for the rest of the series and miss so many games, is quite frustrating. Personally, I won't say I am trapped, but I am very unfortunate that I have got injured at crucial period of my career. I have missed out on a lot of games after getting injured. South Africa Test match in India [in 2010], I got injured on the morning of the match and then I had to wait for four years to make my Test debut. Again in England in 2011, my finger got injured in the first one-dayer and I missed nine one-days thereafter. Now also, it is almost nine ODIs now - three in England, three against West Indies and three against Sri Lanka now. It's very frustrating when you have a season like that and then you miss games due to injuries… You know it's very difficult to come back. But see I am strong enough. I understand my game. I understand me as a person now. I know how to deal with my game and I am keen to come back. Coming back to where I was is very important.

So what have you been up to over the last couple of months?
Not much. I had good rest for a few days. Watched a lot of films. I then started working on my finger, shoulder, the whole body then. Ten days ago, I started batting. I am excited to be back and I will be playing tomorrow. It was important to get back, and for the past few days I wasn't feeling comfortable about my batting. There were a few things happening with my batting and wanted to get that feeling back of how I used to bat before the injury. It is not the same when you come back after an injury. I am more or less very comfortable now after a real long session at Bandra-Kurla Complex [in Bombay] yesterday. When I play tomorrow, I will be able to anlayse it properly.

Have you sought any help to keep yourself mentally fit?
My mental peace is my biggest strength. I have spent a lot of time on my own, with my friends and family, with my close ones. That really helped me calm down and take my mind off cricket and relax for a bit. If you don't do that, all those thoughts will get back into your mind and you will get disturbed. Things will not be the same. So I was trying to keep myself away and get rejuvenated. I know I had to stay calm till I came back onto the field.

During rehabilitation, did you ever feel that you were in danger of missing out on another World Cup?
Yeah. When I got injured, I didn't know how long it's going take. When injuries happen, you don't know how long it is going to take. With the World Cup being so far away I wasn't thinking about the World Cup then. But that thing of missing the World Cup will always be there because I missed the 2011 World Cup and I don't want to miss out on this World Cup anyhow.

This [finger] injury took about two months exactly [to heal]. Doctors had told me it will take four to six weeks. It's not their fault. They tried everything they could but my body's healing process is not that great, so what can I do. Everyone's body type is different. As I said, I am just excited to be back on the field.

It has been a little over seven years since your international debut but you have played just seven Tests. What would you attribute that to?
I don't know. What can I say. As a cricketer I am disappointed. But fortunes haven't gone my way also. I was to make my Test debut in 2010 but got injured and then had to wait till 2013. Injuries have kept me away and a few of disappointing series have also… I am the one to be blamed and no one else. But it's fine. I cannot get frustrated and think too much about my game too much. I understand that I haven't done justice to my potential and abilities. It's okay. I want to stay positive and keep looking forward to every challenge that lies ahead.

Do you think in the next four to five months you have every opportunity to change that perception?
Absolutely. From now till next October, I have many challenges. I will meet you here in October 2015 and I am sure we will have much more to talk about my performance. It has not been great from October 2013 till now, but I have hardly played any games as far Test matches are concerned. I would like to look at the next five months as a challenging and tough phase. I know it's not going to be easy but I hope I can overcome all those challenges.

What is more important over the next five months: to prove that you are a better Test batsman than you are perceived to be or the World Cup?
I have got nothing to prove to anyone. I have to prove it to myself that I am much more capable than what I have done so far. I want to keep proving it to myself. When I look into the mirror and when I talk to myself, I should be able to look into my eyes and talk to myself about my achievements. The next five months, I have to be very focused and my thought process has to be very clear. Once I get into the season, I cannot have too many thoughts in my head so that it doesn't put me into a lot of trouble. I should be very clear in what I have to do. These two months which I got were very helpful to work on and become a good cricketer mentally. I have worked on a few things on the mental aspect and that will hopefully help me not just for the next five months but the next five years.

You have been tagged as a gifted cricketer. How much have you lived up to it in your opinion?
I am very clear that nobody is gifted. I don't know about anyone else, but talking about myself, I wasn't gifted. I was a bowler when I started and had to work my way to become a batsman. If I was gifted, I would have been a batsman straightaway. I have worked hard to become a batsman that I am. Nothing has been gifted naturally to me. I have worked with my coaches at a young age on my batting. That elegance and all is good to see on TV, but when you practise, you need to bring that into your game during practice. Naturally gifted people say all those sort of things, but nothing has been given to me naturally. Everything has come with sheer hardwork.

You spoke about the need to remain focused. Have you learnt to cope with all the distractions young Indian cricketers have to deal with these days?
Yes. Because I know what my goal is. I know where I want to get. To get there I have to be disciplined. If I am not disciplined, I will never be able to get there. Over the years, we learn. You have seen so many cricketers grow over the years. People like Sachin, Dravid, Kumble, Laxman, all these people. They have had their glamorous life, they have had their disciplined life as well. And they have managed their careers very well which is why they became such successful cricketers. So you learn from them. As a youngster when I came into the team, all these guys were my role models. I was fortunate to play with them and play against them sometimes. I got to learn a lot from them. I have to avoid the distractions if I have to reach my goals. It's pretty simple.