Krishnamachari Srikkanth

Krishnamachari Srikkanth (Tamil: க்ரிஷ்ணமச்சரி ஸ்ரீக்காந்த்) (born December 21, 1959) is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the current chairman of the selection committee. He is an engineer by qualification and graduated from the prestigious College of Engineering, Guindy in Chennai, India.

He made his One Day International debut against England in Ahmedabad in 1981, followed two days later by his Test debut against England at Mumbai. He made his debut at the age of 21 as an opener of the Indian team to partner Sunil Gavaskar. Both batsmen had entirely different approaches to their batting. Gavaskar was more of the orthodox technical batsman and Srikkanth was prolific hitter and a swashbuckling batsman. Srikkanth redefined batting with his power hitting and he gave such wonderful starts to the team against even the toughest of oppositions. He was gifted with a good eye and super quick reflexes. Consistency was not his forte. With more technical batsman in the side during his times like Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Mohinder Amarnath, Ravi Shastri etc., he could fancy hitting the bowlers all over. He is Tamilian by origin.

Srikkanth was a stylish opening batsman with a keen eye and sharp reflexes, allowing him to play aggressive attacking strokes with power and precision. Although somewhat rash in execution, which led to his downfall at times, his swashbuckling style and free scoring like were a favourite with Indian crowds, making him a popular player.

As he matured, he tempered his aggression somewhat and became a mainstay of the Indian cricket team. He was an integral member of the Indian squad when they won the 1983 Prudential World Cup and 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket. He was made the captain of the Indian team in 1989. He never hesitated to experiment like he did against England where India had a target of 260 to chase and had lost two early wickets and Srikkanth sent all-rounder Chetan Sharma to bat at number 4 and Sharma returned with a score of 103 and India won the game. He remained the captain of the team for India's tour of Pakistan in 1989 and managed to draw all the four Tests of the series, which was seen by many as an honourable result. But the selectors were disappointed with his batting failures, controversially dropped him. He returned two years later and played for another year before being dropped again. By this time, he had entered the 30s and his reflexes were slowing down. He retired from international cricket in 1993 after not being picked for the South Zone team. He was the first Indian player to score a half-century and pick up 5 wickets in an ODI. He achieved this feat against New Zealand at Vishakapatnam in 1988.

After retirement he had a quite successful stint as the coach of the India 'A' team. He has since been a broadcaster and commentator with various sports and news channels.

On September 27, 2008, he was appointed the Chief Selector of the Indian Cricket team.^[1]

Srikkanth played 43 Tests for India, scoring 2,062 runs at an acceptable average of 29.88. His style was better suited to One Day Internationals, where he compiled a significantly better record of 146 matches for 4,091 runs at a good average of 29.01. He also bowled off spin regularly in ODIs, taking 25 wickets at a very good average of 25.64. He also lost his flamboyance after he became captain of the Indian team.

Srikkanth's son Anirudha Srikkanth is currently a starter in the Tamil Nadu cricket team. On February 18, 2008, Kris Srikkanth was named the ambassador for the Chennai Super Kings franchise of Indian Premier League.^[2]

References

1. ^ "Mental strength as important as talent - Srikkanth | India Cricket News | Cricinfo.com". Content-eap.cricinfo.com. http://content-eap.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/371522.html. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
2. ^ "Sport / Cricket : It is Chennai Super Kings". The Hindu. 2008-02-19. http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/19/stories/2008021956851800.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 

External links

• Official Website
• Cricinfo Player Profile