The cricketer spoke to Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Businessworld and exchange4media, during an event held to announce Rajasthan Royals' partnership with Alcis Sports The IPL fever has gripped the nation and the teams are roping in brands for partnerships ahead of the league next month. On Tuesday, IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals roped in Alcis Sports as their official multi-year Knitting and Merchandise Partner. While the team made the announcement, Royals brand ambassador Shane Warne exchanged a dialogue with Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Businessworld and exchange4media. During the light-hearted conversation, the cricketer shared how he has developed interest for new verticals of the game and how one should deal with failures and disappointments in life. Excerpts: After cricket, I hear, playing poker is what you would do professionally. So, if you hadn’t been a cricketer, would you have been a poker player?  The two games are very different; one is physically demanding and the other one is mentally demanding. Tell us how you developed interest for these games? In the 70s, I and my brother used to play games such as unesca, 500 and poker. We played these games just to pass time as we did not have playstations or x-boxes then. We used to play cards with our parents. My mother and brother used to be one team and me and my dad one team. So playing these games was a family tradition. I retired from international cricket in 2007, but I still play poker. After retirement, I travelled to several places, such as New York, Budapest, Vienna or Venice, which I couldn’t go as a cricketer. It’s been very exciting. Coming to IPL, we always try to be a step ahead of the opposition teams. In IPL, every other franchise is special and extremely good. So what is going to set Royals apart from rest of the teams is the vibrant & young talent. We support young talent. In a match against New Zealand in 2001-02, you had scored your career’s best and were caught off the bowling of Daniel Vettori. But apparently it was a no ball. Was there grief, regret or anger? Tell us how do you handle such miscalculations as a player? Also, around the same summer, you had to miss the Australian summer season due to a finger injury. In life, all of us have disappointments in whatever we do; whether it’s business or sports. The most important thing to remember is that you can’t change whatever happened five minutes ago or in the past. So try to learn from the things that have happened in the past because you can’t change them. You have seen different roles in life as a cricketer, poker player, entrepreneur, commentator and also a father. Which is the most important role for you? I think being a nice father to my children is the most important role. It’s actually not easy. Being a single parent is very difficult. But it is very enjoyable and rewarding too. I have always been blessed in my life as I have got opportunity to work with Royals and different companies and sponsorships.