Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Encyclopedia
Krishnamachari Srikkanth (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.
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
.
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
and the current chairman of the selection committee. He is an engineer by qualification and graduated from the prestigious College of Engineering, Guindy
College of Engineering, Guindy
College of Engineering, Guindy in Chennai, India, is India's oldest engineering and technical institution, having been established in 1794. Today it is one of the four constituent colleges of Anna University, Chennai....
in Chennai, India.
He made his One Day International debut against England in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
in 1981, followed two days later by his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against England at Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. He made his debut at the age of 21 as an opener of the Indian team to partner Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
. 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
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
, Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
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
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
. He was an integral member of the Indian squad when they won the 1983 Prudential World Cup
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
and 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket
World Championship of Cricket
The Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket was a One Day International tournament held from 17 February to 10 March 1985 in Australia and won by India....
. He was made the captain of the Indian team
Indian national cricket captains
This is a list of all cricketers who have captained Indian national cricket team at the international level. The list includes all Indian captains of men's, women's and youth cricket. India became a full member of the Imperial Cricket Conference on 31 May 1926...
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
Chetan Sharma
Chetan Sharma was a medium pace bowler who represented India at cricket.Sharma was coached by Desh Prem Azad, a Dronacharya Award winner, who was also the mentor of Kapil Dev...
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
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
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.
Srikkanth's son Anirudha Srikkanth
Anirudha Srikkanth
Anirudha Srikkanth is an Indian cricketer. He was born in Madras to the famous Indian cricketer Krish Srikkanth. He currently plays for the Chennai Super Kings....
is currently a starter in the Tamil Nadu cricket team
Tamil Nadu cricket team
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Team ; , competes in the Super League of the Ranji Trophy, the top cricketing competition in India. The team finished as runners-up behind Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons establishing themselves as one of the strongest teams in the country...
. On February 18, 2008, Kris Srikkanth was named the ambassador for the Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings is a franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that plays in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team is currently captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming, a former New Zealand cricketer. The team's home ground is the M. A...
franchise of Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
.