Saif Ali Khan has cricket in his blood

Field day
I love cricket, and have a lot of respect for the game. More than just a pastime, it is like a family tradition for us. The World Cup is certainly keeping me occupied these days, though I confess that I haven't been able to follow it ball by ball due to prior commitments. But I have made it a point to catch the crucial matches like the India-Australia clash in the quarterfinals and, of course, I'll be glued to my TV set today.

Go, India!
More than wanting my favourite players to do well, I hope the team clicks as a unit. Our entire cricket team is very entertaining to watch. For instance, I like watching Yuvraj when he bats well, as he is doing these days. Dhoni's captaincy skills as well as (Virender) Sehwag's opening play are a treat to watch. Of course, Sachin Tendulkar is one name that stands out for most of us. Apart from the Indian players, I like watching Brett Lee and the Pakistani bowlers. They're all very aggressive.

I think that Australia and Pakistan are great teams. Well it's sad that Australia lost the quarterfinals, because after India, the one team that I feel deserved the World Cup was Australia. But on the flip side, I am very happy that India won. I am excited about the finals. I am shooting in Delhi, but I will take some time off and fly down to Mumbai to catch the match at the Wankhede stadium. And I'm hoping to see India battle it out there.

Player
When I was in school, I really liked the idea of being a professional cricket player like my father. Just like every other school boy, I used to play cricket for my school team. The sport was taken very seriously in my school
- we had such beautiful cricket fields to play on. But, frankly speaking, I don't think I was good enough to play the game for my country (laughs). Obviously, my life laid down another path for me to tread.