Ever since you lifted your third IPL trophy with MI in May 2017, you have had a brilliant year. You scored a third double century in ODI cricket. You led India to series wins abroad. Tell us about your year…

Yes, it’s been a great year for the country and for me, individually. A lot of things happened in the season gone by. And we ended the season on a good note, too. I am very, very pleased with the season. We achieved a lot of things we wanted to, as a team. A lot of the things that I wanted personally, I managed to do most of the things well. So, I am pretty happy with whatever has happened. Look, it’s a sport. And it’s a never-ending sport and you always want more. You are always hungry for success. Sometimes you have a good year; sometimes you have a bad year. As a sportsperson, you need to understand how to put it behind you, so that you are able to start afresh. So, it is important for me to look forward. And, looking forward means getting back into these beautiful colours (points to the new MI jersey he’s wearing) and playing once again for the Mumbai Indians. It has been a long journey, and a great one at that. Winning last year was fantastic. I have had a lot of good memories with this team, and I am very thankful for the same. I am looking forward to the start of a fresh season, and it starts with the IPL.

We have retained the core but it’s still a very new team. As captain, what’s your take on the fresh faces in the squad?

To be honest, I am excited. It’s always exciting to have new faces and new players in your team. We have got a great blend of youth and seniors. So, it’s always a good sign for the team to have a fine mix of both. The only challenge is to ensure how everybody gets along with each other. That, essentially, has been the challenge (faced by every team) in the Vivo IPL. I am sure all teams want to do it (gelling) as quickly as possible. And we are doing the same. In the past 10 years, we have done that quite well as a team. We got to know each other at the start of the season. It’s important to understand what one person thinks of the other. It’s important to get along and do it quickly. Doing that at the start of the season makes your job easier. I am excited about the new faces. I am excited to see them, welcome them, and I want to make sure they feel they are at home. I want to assure them that this franchise is one of the best in the Vivo IPL. I have noticed that ever since I arrived here. That’s the culture we have here: making people feel welcome and making them feel at home. When you are in that space, it allows you to express yourself. It gives you that freedom. And that freedom eventually enables you to do well on the field.

In the past, you had someone like Lasith Malinga to go to whenever you needed a wicket. Now, you have bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman and Pat Cummins in the mix. What do you have to say about the new-look bowling unit?

I think it’s a versatile attack. We’ve got pace, we’ve got spin, and we’ve got variation. Like I said, I am excited about this squad, especially the bowling unit. These are very talented players. Pat Cummins, who is now playing for the Australian Test team in South Africa, has done really well for his country. He has very good pace. Mustafizur Rahman, as we have seen in the recent past, has got great variations. He is someone who can be very unpredictable at times, and that’s what we want to be as a team. Mustafizur brings that unpredictability quotient to the table. I am looking forward to playing with him. Also, we have a few good spinners in our squad as well. We have proven performers like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, but we have some new spinners in the mix. Of course, we are going to miss Harbhajan Singh. The experience he brought to this team was immense. To fill his shoes will require a lot of work for anyone who comes in. So, I am sure all these young guys are waiting for that opportunity to wear the MI colours and go out on the field and create (the magic) what we have created in the past. It will be a great season.

Have you set yourself any personal goals this season?

I don’t set personal goals, as such. But, yes, there are some thing I want to do for the team. And that’s with respect to whichever team I play for. On top of that list is achieving success with whichever team I play. That is the most important thing. Setting long-term goals is not ideal. Having short-term goals is good. And that is where my focus is. The short-term goal is very clear. It’s very simple: to lift the Vivo IPL trophy again. For that, we have to do so many things. It starts with getting the players together, getting to know each one of them, find the momentum. The Vivo IPL poses a lot of challenges, and one of them is to get going as a team. We are looking forward to that. We have won the title on three occasions, so we know what we need to do as a team (in order to lift the trophy once again). It will be a big challenge but I know the boys are up for it.

You were part of the MI Emojis launch. What’s your opinion on the MI Emojis? And how often do you use emojis during your personal conversations online?

I use emojis on a daily basis! It’s quite fascinating that the franchise has come up with the MI Emojis this year. It will be very entertaining. It will attract our fans and spectators. I have seen a few MI Emojis and I loved them. I am sure people are going to use it all through the season.