Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Kapali Panguni Utsavam 2024 Rajeswari Devotee

This 96 year old lady is looking forward to the midnight Rishabham next Wednesday

This section has featured many stories in the last few years on the devotees’ love for Kapaleeswarar and their attachment to the annual Panguni Utsavam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/kapali-panguni-utsavam.html) and how each of them play a part in it. There are just a few days to go for this year's utsavam, and the grand processions from the decades gone by are already playing out in the mind of this 96 year old devotee.

Hailing from Kadaladi village near Pozhur (Vandavasi), K. Rajeswari has been present at the Panguni Utsavam for close to six decades. It is a hot Tuesday (March 12) morning at the Kapaleeswarar temple but unmindful of the heat she has made her way to each of the Sannidhis and is walking around the prakara with her son VK Manoharan, a retired Sanskrit teacher. Just 48 hours earlier, devotees thronged in large numbers on Sunday morning to carry the 1000 Paal Kudam to the Kola Villi Amman temple. This is an event that she fondly remembers from her early years in Mylapore.

To the temple before 5am on the Adikaara Nandi morning
Rajeswari is all excited as she recalls to this writer her experiences at the Panguni Utsavam dating back to the late 1960s and early 70s “I would wake very early on the third morning and reach the temple well before 5am for the start of the Adikaara Nandi procession. There were three specific locations that I would particularly stand and have darshan – the deeparathanai at Yaaga Salai, the Gopura Vaasal and the 16 pillar mandapam. These are three points where I never missed having a close darshan during this utsavam.”

Rishabham - A Lifetime favourite
Rishabham (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/03/kapali-devotee-aparna-panguni-utsavam.html), like for most other Kapali devotees, has been a lifetime favourite for this nonagenarian. “Even as the procession started inside the temple, there would be big fire crackers that would go on the north mada side of the tank near the Indian Bank. It was a grand display of fire works that all the devotees look forward. And then the Gopura Vaasal Deeparathanai at midnight was the big moment for me as devotees roared with shouts of ‘kapali, kapali’. It was an unforgettable experience to be amidst those hundreds of devotees in front of the Raja Gopuram” says Rajeshwari even as tears roll down her cheeks narrating that most devotional midnight moment of the Panguni Utsavam.

All the way on the Chariot morning
As the Panguni Utsavam moved into the second half, Rajeswari would be present end to end for the Chariot festival pulling the car at the start of the procession on the East Mada street. “It was the one day in the utsavam when devotees congregated from afar to pull the chariot around the four streets. We saw huge crowds on that morning and there would be devotees on the top of house floors to witness the chariot passing by at a slow pace.”

“Being the start of the summer, cucumber, butter milk and paanagam would be distributed and that came as a relief to the devotees.”

The Arubathumoovar
On the Arubathumoovar evening (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/04/kapali-panguni-utsavam-2023.html), she recalls having darshan of Lords from different temples in the city. "While we were all excited to have darshan of the 63 Saint Poets, it was also an evening for us to have darshan of swamis from different temples in the city and we heard stories about each of these temples on that evening" Rajeswari tells this writer.
 
Her husband V. D. Krishnaswamy Sarma, who passed away in the early 1980s, was a school teacher at Vayalamoor, a village near Senji. He was an Upanyasakar and would sit near the Pillayar Sannidhi at the eastern entrance of the Kapaleeswarar Temple presenting historical stories including interesting episodes from the Thiruvachakam. “Once he went to Calcutta to present an upanyasam. A week later, Kripananda Vaariyar too presented one at the same location. When he found a name from the Senji village in that memory book of the organisers, he came back to the village and located Krishnaswamy Sarma.”

Maasam Pathu - enakku 'Maa Sampathu'
Impressed with his contribution to the history and culture, Vaariyar organised Rs. 10 to be sent to him every month by money order. Acknowledging this support, she says that her husband told him ‘Maasam Pathu is ‘Maa Sampathu’ for me bringing out a big laughter in Vaariyar.”

 “Later when the sons had grown up and we moved to Madras, my husband went to an upanyasam of Vaariyar at Asthiga Samajam and requested him for the financial support to be stopped. Vaariyar was so impressed with this gesture that he made a public announcement about the contentment of my husband at the end of that upanyasam", she recounts as to how contended her husband was. 

Sandy Prakaras
Son Manoharan says that she likes being in the midst of devotees at this temple. Even though she has to climb two floors at home, she insists on coming to the Kapali temple every day and is already looking forward to the Panguni utsavam. "There was no cement flooring like you have now in those early years and the sandy path around the prakara was soft on the feet in those years. We enjoyed walking around in a pradakshinam.”

Her son donned the Sripatham role
One of her sons, Sekar, who passed away in a road accident, was an active voluntary member of the Sripatham team that carried Kapaleeswarar on their shoulders during this utsavam. She misses him badly at this utsavam but the sight of him carrying Kapali is still fresh “Every year, when I am at the procession, I visualise Sekar carrying the Lord around the four streets.”

Come 9pm on Friday evening, it is likely that the longtime Mylaporeans (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/07/kapali-theevatti-pmo-consultant-v.html) will see this familiar face yet again at the start of the Pillayar procession on the Mooshika Vahanam. It has been 55 glorious years for Rajeswari at the Panguni Utsavam and she just cannot wait for this year’s utsavam to start and the shouts of 'Kapali Kapali' is already ringing in her ears. 

Friday, March 8, 2024

Rajesh Kannan IPL Umpire

This honest and straight forward cricketer makes his mark in Umpiring
It's mid February and the biggest match in the life of this down to earth umpire from Mylapore, Chennai. And he has a surprise visitor in his room at tea time. Former India star and captain of Bombay Ajinkya Rahane has himself come to meet Rajesh Kannan. The reason - Rahane, who has had a terrible season as a batsman, has just been given out obstructing the field. Rajesh is unflustered at this star batsman making a polite enquiry and explains the reasoning behind his decision and stands by it. That is Rajesh Kannan for you. He played fierce cricket for IOB for two decades in the first division league in the city but with a great deal of honesty. He is as straight as it comes and does not mince words irrespective of stature of the person on the other side. He also once, just under two decades ago, innocently asked B Kalyanasundaram (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/08/kalli-b-kalyanasundaram.html) as to what cricket he had played when the two were selectors at the U17 level.

On the back of his strong showing in the Ranji Trophy this season including in this match between Bombay and Assam, Rajesh has made the big leap in umpiring. 

From a rank outsider as a cricketer to an IPL Umpire
He was a rank outsider in the mid 1980s with no backing in those early days. Very few in the cricketing circles knew him. He did not have a cricket kit of his own. He was not financially strong. But he made up for all this with a determination that indicated very early on that he would succeed against all odds.In those early years in the 1980s, he would walk all the way from Saidapet to play matches over the weekend and during the summer against a little more fancied YMCA (TSR) team at the YMCA ground in Nandanam. Other times he would catch the crowded 45B bus to Nandanam. But he was always on time and raring to go and prove himself against the more established players. Almost every match, he would take his team to victory single handedly from precarious position that he would find his team in. Many a ball was dispatched into the tennis court on the Western side and the YMCA boys had to jump the wired fencing to fetch the ball back. 

Close to 40 years after this writer first played against him in a Saturday match at YMCA, R. Rajesh Kannan (Kanna to all the cricketers in those days) has just received news that he will be officiating in this year's IPL as a fourth umpire, quite a significant achievement for a quiet and low profile cricketer. It is 11.30pm and Rajesh is fast asleep. He is woken up by an email notification and as he opens the mail, he is all excited to read that he has been assigned the fourth umpire role in the IPL this year. 

It is a big moment in his life after what he went through during the Pandemic and what he had to endure from a lot of his bank colleagues and relatives.  The national lockdown came at the worst moment for Rajesh. It was only six months earlier that he had quit a high paying manager’s job at IOB, where he had worked for 25years.  He could not straddle between working late as a manager at the branch and umpiring cricket matches. When BCCI began to assign women’s matches that required travelling across the country in the 2019-20 season, he found it challenging to take off from the Bank for many months. With the prospect of an umpiring career ahead of him, he quit the job to focus full time on umpiring. 
When he informed his non cricketing colleagues at the bank about his decision, each of them asked him if he was quitting the job to umpire in the IPL and if he would be officiating in matches with Simon Taufel. His relatives too were looking for to him umpiring in the IPL for they thought that cricket did not exist outside of the IPL.

The Pandemic impact 
However, the pandemic dealt a severe blow to Rajesh and his umpiring dreams. He neither had cricket matches to umpire nor the bank job to continue his flourishing career in the banking space. He spent hours with this writer walking at the Nageswara Rao Park unsure of his future and wondering repeatedly if he took a wrong decision to quit the Bank job. It was a tumultuous 2020 for Rajesh with him spending most of his time in anxiety and constantly reviewing this big decision he took the previous year. Lord Hanuman of Alamelumangapuram, where he has been residing over the last few decades, was the one he looked up to for confidence in that phase. 

Makes up for lost time - Graduates to Ranji
He managed to somehow wade through that phase patiently waiting for cricket to resume.  When it did, he spent a lot of time in background work – focusing on his physical fitness, continuously working on 3rd umpire simulations with TNCA umpire Rakesh Raghavan, improving his communication skills and learning the protocol aspects relating to umpiring at the highest level. He also worked very closely with senior umpires such as his old colleague KN Ananthapadmanabhan and JR Madanagopal (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/madanagopal-j.html) who he says were always ready and immediately available to clarify complex umpiring scenarios. When he began to umpire the BCCI matches once again, the negative thoughts about quitting a secure bank job became history and in the last couple of years, he has made rapid strides on the umpiring front. 

Rajesh graduated to officiating in the national U23 tournament including in the knock out this year (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/02/rajesh-kannan-ranji-debut.html).  He umpired in the entire set of league matches in the Vijay Hazare national one day tournament this season and did well. Good performances in the plate group of the Ranji Trophy in 22-23 led him to moving up the ladder into the Elite group this year. In the meanwhile, he also officiated in the TNPL including gaining experience as third umpire and the DRS.
Now an International umpire  Ananthapadmanabhan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/09/ananthapadmanabhan-kn.html) watched Rajesh Kannan closely through the 1990s and the 2000s when the two played together for IOB. “Rajesh is someone who takes a lot of pride in whatever he does - from representing the IOB team in cricket to being a Banker and now as an Umpire. He always tries to get better and give his best. I wish him the very best for the forthcoming IPL season” Anantha told this writer this week.

The terrible times of the Pandemic seem to be distant memory for Rajesh. It will now be an entirely new experience of officiating in the IPL, with the fourth umpire role being the entry point and he can now proudly go back to his non cricketing colleagues at IOB and tell them that he indeed will now be officiating in the IPL!!!

Best Wishes to Rajesh Kannan in his new assignment.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

TN Ranji Semi Final 2024 Coach Captain Public Spat

Sandhu in 85, Shardul in 24
At Lords, in 1991, Azhar went against Bedi's instructions, chose to bowl first and England amassed 650runs with Gooch scoring a triple hundred
Like Bedi, Kulkarni let out his frustration against Captain Sai. Unfortunately, TN lost the match not at the toss but on the 2nd afternoon when they let Bombay slip from 100/7 
Over the last 36 hours, in the aftermath of TN’s exit from this year’s Ranji Trophy following another  big defeat against Bombay, there has been a public spat on the reasons for the defeat. Interestingly almost all the leading media houses have let go an important phase in the match and instead focused on the more juicy part of the post match conference of Captain Sai and Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.

Batting on a seamer friendly wicket after winning the toss, TN was bowled out for less than 150. Following the innings defeat Kulkarni has held that the team lost the match at the toss. He pointed out that the idea of TN picking three fast bowlers was to take advantage of the conditions and that it was lost after the team chose to bat. He also said that in his discussion with Sai just ahead of the toss, he wanted TN to bowl first if he won the toss. 

Minutes later, Sai followed his instincts and chose to bat for he felt that the team had an advantage bowling fourth as the two spinners had picked up over 85 wickets in the season (it turned out later there was no fourth innings in the match as TN lost by an innings on the third day).
                                            Sai Kishore- from his X page

In a cricket world that is now dominated by social media opinions, former players have hit out against the coach for letting down his captain and the team in public.

However, this public spat between the captain and coach is nothing new and not restricted to domestic cricket. Way back in 1991, on India’s tour to England, Bishen Singh Bedi, who was designated as the manager on tour (there were no coaches in those days) asked Azhar to bat first at Lords if he won the toss and went around for a walk around the stadium. 

And similar to Sai Kishore, Azhar followed his instincts and chose to bowl on what was to turn out to be one of the flattest wickets later in the match. However, there too, similar to this match, there was a big opportunity that came its way that was not capitalised.

Within the first hour of play, Kiran More dropped a sitter when Gooch was not yet in his 30s and he went on to score his first and only triple hundred as England amassed over 650runs. Interestingly, Gooch was so shocked after having edged that ball that he did not run the single even though the ball went towards third man. Had that catch been taken in that first hour when there was movement, things may have been different. As it turned out, Gooch had a glorious run scoring a century in the 2nd innings as well. 

This match is also known for one of the best test innings played by an Indian batsman at Lords with Azhar scoring a scintillating century at better than run a ball. No bowler in the opposition rank had an answer to his masterful stroke play. Later that innings, Kapil Dev hit Hemmings for four successive sixers to save the follow on.

On that first morning, when Bedi heard that India were bowling he was furious that Azhar went against his decision. Bedi was not known to mince words and let his frustration on Azhar at the end of the day for having gone against instructions. Similar to Kulkarni this week, Bedi had held that the decision to bowl tilted the match in England’s favour (England won the match at the toss!!!). And similar to Sai Kishore's fourth innings turner argument, Azhar justified that there was swing on offer on that first morning and had that catch been held, the match may have taken a different course on day 1.

In the Ranji Semi Final, Kulkarni’s views were endorsed with TN collapsing on day one. However, what almost the entire journalist fraternity has failed to focus on over the last 36 hours is the fact that TN bounced back on the 2nd morning and had Bombay on the brink at 100/7. Had they got the tailenders cheap, it is likely they would have been on even terms after the first innings and then Sai’s decision to  bat so as to leverage the advantage of bowling fourth may well have come true. TN lost the match on that 2nd afternoon when they allowed the tail to score over 250runs. 

Historical matches of TN bowlers letting it slip
Here too, it’s not the first time.  Multiple occasions, in the 1980s, TN let go golden opportunities to beat Delhi and Bombay in the knock out encounters when they allowed the a rather unfancied lower order to flourish after TN had got through the top order of the opposition. 

The Famous LS match
In that famous Quarter Final at Chepauk in Feb 82, where Vidya Mandir school boy LS got 7 wickets in the 2nd innings (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/04/l-sivaramakrishnan.html), TN had had Delhi on the brink at 290/7 in the first innings. But Surinder Khanna engineered a recovery to take the team past 400.  

All rounder Madan Lal did it then like Shardul this week
Two years later, against the same team and at the same venue, TN had got half the Delhi team out for just over 200 chasing TN’s 350+ score but Madan Lal, similar to Shardul Thakur, led a big recovery scoring a century that took Delhi past the 450mark. 

BS Sandhu- Another Bombay all arounder, another late order recovery
The next year, history repeated itself again in the semi final at Bombay. Current state selector, S Srinivasan, was part of that TN team (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/08/s-srinivasan-tn-bombay-ranji-svpb-spic.html). He had declared with confidence on the eve of the match that TN would well inn this match. Chasing TN’s 400+ first innings score in March 1985, (TN collapsed after V Shiv and CS Suresh Kumar - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/07/cs-suresh-kumar-india-schools-tn-opener.html) - had put together a big opening stand), Bombay had lost half its side for 300 but Balwinder Singh Sandhu, another fast bowling allrounder most famously known for that big down the slope inswinger that got Gordon Greenidge in the 1983 World Cup final, forged a late order recovery to take Bombay past 500. That match turned out to be the last for Srinivasan's SVPB team mate NP Madhavan, who scored a century in his last innings.

Back then in the 1980s, Venkat and Co did not have any answers to the opposition lower order in the Ranji knock out games. And this week, Sai and Kulkarni did not have one. 

Both of the Captain and the Coach will have to keep the argument of the toss for another day for TN did not lose the match at 9am on Day 1.

(At the time of writing this story, Vidharbha had just fashioned a comeback win after being bowled out for 170 in the first innings in the other semi final!!!) 

Monday, March 4, 2024

Kapali Temple Pushpa Kainkaryam GG Sivakumar

Over the last year, this devotee, who runs a Recruitment firm, has put together a team of 35 ladies to knot and present flower garlands every day at the Kapaleeswarar temple
Devotees at the Kapaleeswarar temple have found different ways to engage themselves with the Lord. When Sundaram Finance's S Harini Yogalakshmi moved from Madras to Erode following a transfer, she missed Kapali and took the late night Yercaud express to be on time for the start of the Adikara Nandi procession and on another occasion for the return of the Lord in the morning on the Rishabham (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/kapali-panguni-utsavam.html) during the Panguni Utsavam. IT Professional KS Sankar has been leading the crowd management during the Panguni Utasvam, especially on the Arubathumoovar and Chariot days in the last few years (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/11/sankar-ks-kapali-festival-crowd.html) . 

It was at the start of the Vasantha Utsavam in 2022 that the former World Bank Consultant, V Ramkumar,  a consultant to the PMO in 2023, began his Theevatti Kainkaryam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/07/kapali-theevatti-pmo-consultant-v.html). Ever since, over the last couple of years, he has expanded this service to other utsavams round the year including the annual Panguni Utsavam.  

And last year, ahead of the Vasantha Utsavam, GG Sivakumar, a long time devotee, kicked off a Kainkaryam of a different kind. When he found that there was a shortage of flower garlands for the deities, he asked the hereditary priests if he could present garlands during the utsavam. Buoyed by the positive response from them, he went about collecting flowers from the wholesale market in Parrys and put together a team of like minded individuals who were interested in knotting the flowers.

Sitting in front of the Yaaga Saalai, the team knotted garlands through the entire period of the long 25 day utsavam. Delighted with their presentation, the hereditary priests asked Sivakumar if he could expand this to a round the year service. Interestingly, the temple trustee too vouched for this and got an official approval for him to continue the service through the year. 
It was also around the same time that PS School teacher Veda began initiating young kids into the Thevaram verses in another corner of the kapali temple(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/08/kapali-temple-thevaram-kids.html?m=1). 

Very early on his life, Sivakumar's appa had initiated him into devotion by taking him everyday to the Parthasarathy temple in Thiruvallikeni (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/manavala-mamuni-utsavam-thiruvallikeni.html).

From a one off initiative, when this exercise became an ongoing and long term one, Sivakumar, who joined hands with his relatives and close friends, to support service personnel at TN temples through the Pandemic period reached out to them again asking them if they would be interested in partnering in this Kainkaryam “Following the Vasantha Utsavam, we began presenting flower garlands every morning at the Swami, Ambal and Singaravellar Sannidhis”, Sivakumar told this writer on a hot afternoon at the Navarathri Mandapam where his team now knots the flowers every evening between 7pm and 9pm.

 “This exercise costs approximately Rs. 70000 every month and my friends and relatives who pooled in money happily agreed to partner on this one as well” says Sivakumar.
Into the second half of 2023, Jayakanthan Shivachariar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/kapaleeswarar-temple-jayakanthan.html) asked Sivakumar if the team could present for the four Kaalams of the Pavitrotsavam. The Pushpa Kainkaryam also expanded to the Naalvar and Naayanmar Utsavams.

47 year old Sivakumar, who runs a recruitment firm in the city, says that while initially during the first few months, he came in every morning to present the garlands knotted the previous evening to the priests in the respective sannidhis, his team member Kumar has taken up this role in recent months. Similarly, another team member Sumathi has taken up the responsibility of coordinating every day with the entire team whose strength has now risen to 35.
During the course of the year, Balaji Gurukal (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/04/kapali-temple-balaji-gurukal.html) suggested that they could explore more Sannidhis at the temple and thus the Pushpa Kainkaryam expanded further and now includes Pillayar, Annamalayar, Jagadeeswarar, Saneeswarar, Pazhani Andavar and Vayilar Nayanar Sannidhis, among others. Sivakumar points out that with the expansion to many more sannidhis, the Kainkaryam has become even more interesting “Each of their deities are in different sizes and the team is now required to knot the garland in many different sizes.”

Priests happy with this Daily Kainkaryam
He is particularly happy that the hereditary priests as well as the trustees have presented positive feedback about the way the ladies have gone about the Kainkaryam “Jaya Anna specifically told me that there is very little noise while the ladies are performing this Kainkaryam and they seem to be fully committed to this and asked me to continue this without a break.”

Team Members have found this engaging
That, Sivakumar says, was very motivating. He is also happy that his team members have found this to be ‘stress buster’ in their everyday lives “There are different challenges that we encounter in our lives every day. For a number of these team members, sitting together in a group and performing this Kainkaryam has relieved them of the stress. Knotting a flower garland is a traditional activity and they seem to be energised at the end of this exercise every evening. Seeing the garland they have knotted draped on the Swami and Ambal has given them a great deal of satisfaction.”

This young devotee considers it a great blessing
One such devotee is Shivapriya Viswanathan who is pursuing her BS in Data Science at IIT Madras, a large part of which is run through the online model. She is aiming to get into the Fintech world following the completion of this degree. Even as a school student, she had developed great interest in knotting flowers having learned the art from her Thatha Gopalakrishnan, a retired staffer at BSNL and has presented the garlands both at the monthly anusham celebrations of Periyava as well as the annual ten day festival at Kanchipuram for many years. 

"My Thatha would collect flowers from the garden, engage himself in knotting these into a garland and present it to a near pillayar koil every day of the year. He was my inspiration and after he taught me the basics, I became very interested in this Kainkaryam" she told this writer on Monday.

She moved from being a devotee of Marudeeswarar (Thiruvanmiyur) to Kapaleeswarar in mid 2022 after shifting to Mylapore. While she has been on the laptop through the day with her academics, she considers the Pushpa Kainkaryam opportunity that came her way out of the blue as a great blessing "When Sivakumar (Sir) asked me if I would be interested in participating in this, I immediately agreed for I had already done it for many years. Kapali has been my life over the last 18 months or so since the time I moved to Mylapore but I never expected that such a Kainkaryam at the feet of Kapali and Karpagambal would ever come to me and not at such an early stage in my life. Not all get such an opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands when he offered it to me."

She says that these two hours of Pushpa Kainkaryam have been a big devotional break away from academics and that it has been a wonderful experience over the last year to be part of this team where she has learned the finer nuances of this art from the seniors.

Other devotional engagements of Shivapriya include presenting Konnakol (learning from Guru Ghatam Rajaram) at temples and performing at Thyagaraja Aradhana. In the past, she has also presented at the Kapali temple, which has now become very close to her heart.

Panguni Utsavam 2024 - A different set of Kainkaryam activities 
The annual Panguni Utsavam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/04/kapali-panguni-utsavam-2023.html) is round the corner and Sivakumar has a different kind of Kainkaryam lined up for that as well. Based on the suggestion from Theevatti 'Sanyasi 'Ramkumar, he is hoping that his team will be able to take care of the Kainkaryapakas during and after the daily processions “Through all the days of the utsavam, our pushpa kainkaryam team members are planning to distribute butter milk and water, on the West and North Mada streets, to the service personnel of the temple during the processions and also present curd rice at the end of each of the processions to the service personnel who participated in the procession."
He says that this kainkaryam has also brought together the family members of the team to both support the ladies in this endeavour as well as back them in newer initiatives such as the one that is being planned during the Panguni Utsavam next fortnight. 

The next time one sees a beautiful garland on the Lord, it may be one knotted by this set of volunteers led by Sivakumar. 

For Sivakumar himself, there is a great deal of satisfaction in putting together a team for the Pushpa Kainkaryam and to have grown this to 35 from out of nowhere just under a year ago. He is open to more Kainkaryapakas coming forward to participate in this daily service to the Lord.

Those interested may call him on: 98402 00661

Friday, March 1, 2024

K Srikkanth India Opener 1980s

Heartbeat shot up for the fans when he batted in the 1980s as he thrilled them with a new brand of cricket that was hitherto unseen at the international level 
From the Sundal seller in the D-Stand to the most knowledgeable of cricket fans, Srikkanth was a crowd favourite and created a new audience for cricket with his exhilarating batting 
I learned a lot from Srikkanth. He transmitted Positivity - TVS' R Dinesh
It’s a scene from the 1980s. Tamil Nadu is batting first on a sunny morning at Chepauk. The Peanut vendor is all set at the far end of the ground at the D Stand with his basket and all excited as his favourite cricketer walks on to the middle with his Symonds bat. He shouts out the best wishes to him and within 15 minutes has sold a sizeable quantity of the nuts with the opener in blazing form striking fours and sixers including the answering the request of the vendor with a hit straight into the D Stand. The packed crowd in that stand is just as thrilled as the vendor boy as they go up in chorus cheering another six. It is what they have come for that morning – fireworks from ball one. There are near misses as well as a lofted stroke just clears the fielder and an outswinger beats the edge, each of which send the crowd into silence. It was always tense as one did not know what would happen the next ball and how long the blitzkrieg would last but they enjoyed every minute of what came their way. And when his favourite batsman gave it away yet another time when he was just beginning to look dangerous and well set for a big score, the peanut vendor’s mood changed quite drastically. The chatty guy suddenly turned sad and angry after his ‘Thalaivar’s’ dismissal. He was done with it for the day and left the D Stand happy with what he saw but his heart still yearning for more and shouted out the message that the King of Chepauk would score a Century the next time.
In the 1980s, Krishnamachari Srikkanth set the stands on fire with his batting that was well ahead of his time. Most of his teammates were conservative and traditional in their approach but not he. He was fearless and aggressive and wanted to dominate the fast bowlers right from the word go.  He was also terrific against the spinners and dismissed them to all parts of the field with nonchalant ease. A feature of his batting was that his aggression was all directed straight – back over the bowler and over mid-off and mid-on. Rarely did he play ugly cross batted swipes. When the pacers tried to bounce him out, he hooked them into the stands with the best of that generation getting a taste of his medicine in the 1983 World Cup final. In the one dayers, he used the field restrictions in the first 15 overs to his advantage and hit over the top leaving the fast bowlers stunned.

His dashing stroke play reached its peak in Australia where a lot of the Indian openers had struggled previously and he even had the Aussie commentators looking forward to his demolition of the opposition bowlers. Many a time he committed Hara-Kiri and that’s one regret he has but the 1980s was a memorable decade when he transformed the way international openers looked at batting at the top of the order. Three decades after his retirement, he looks back with great joy at his cricket career in a chat with this writer. Here’s the story.

The Early days - Devotional learnings from his amma
Srikkanth’s amma was very religious and initiated him into a devotional way of life during his school days. Sitting at the verandah of his home in Neelankarai, Srikkanth recalls those early years when his interest in serious cricket was limited and restricted to playing tennis ball cricket “We lived a middle class way of life and as was the tradition those days, my parents inculcated in me devotional habits very early on that held me in good stead later on in life. I would regularly recite Adithya Hridayam and Hayagriva stotrams during my schooling years. Visiting the nearby temples was also a ritual that was initiated into me by my amma. The focus was on excelling in academics and in those early years, I batted in a ‘natural’ way, which turned out to be an aggressive way. It was not any well thought plan to play in that fashion. When the tennis ball was hurled at me, I instinctively hit it hard and back past the bowler and that’s how I developed that style of play.”

His Devotional Engagement with the Sun God
Later on in his cricketing years, his walk towards the square leg umpire and looking frequently at the Sun became a distinctive feature of his stay at the crease. Srikkanth once again credits his amma for instilling in him the devotional thoughts “Right from my school days, Surya Bhagawan was part of my daily prayers. We were told that Sun is the visible God and hence I always invoked His blessings when I was on the cricket field, especially while batting.”

It was those lessons from his early days that taught him humility. Despite his mega achievements at the international level, he did not forget the past and remained the same simple, down to earth, friendly human being to all his teammates from the 1980s. He simply did not have any airs about himself and continues to move around with cricketers in the same way he did back in his prime.

No Cricketing Ambitions
As a young boy, he had no inclination to play serious cricket. Even into his teens, the focus was on academics and he joined Engineering at the Guindy Engineering College with the intention of getting into a corporate life “Doing well in academics was the only focus and I joined Engineering with the intention of pursuing a career path similar to the boys my age. Even into my mid-teens, I had absolutely no ambition of even playing for the state let alone for the country.”

A Distinctive style right from his teenage days
But Devanatha Perumal of Thiru Vahindrapuram (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2008/03/thiruvahindrapuram-devanathan_29.html), who he had great devotion for, had different plans for him. By the time he was into his late teens, things changed dramatically for Srikkanth. There was a rapid upswing in cricket and he made his Ranji debut at 19. Rohinton Baria winning captain SM Krishna Kumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2024/01/sm-krishnakumar-madras-university.html) saw the aggressive side of Srikkanth even in that early phase much before he had made his Ranji debut “The fearless cricket that Srikkanth played at the top of the innings reminded me of the aggressive style adopted by P Ramesh in the preceding years in the mid 1970s. While most others in the city played in a traditional way focusing on building an innings, Srikkanth was different and his natural ability to hit the ball right from the start stood out distinctly even in those early years of his cricket.”

No role model for his aggro
Srikkanth says he had no role model whose approach he based his game on and this just came naturally to him “While I was really impressed with Richards and Lillee and their aggressive way of playing cricket, GRV was the one I admired the most in my teenage years. But my aggressive batting style was just instinctive and there was no role model that I wanted to emulate. I tried to be as natural as possible and like in tennis ball cricket during my school days, I just wanted to hit it back over the bowler as straight as possible. I felt it was a simple approach to batting.”

Selectors back the new approach of this teenager
He gives credit to Sriraman, Annadurai and Rangachari for spotting the talent in him “Right through my career, I adopted the same approach and in fact threw away my wicket many times after crossing 50 when I could have easily converted those to centuries. But in that early stage in my career in the late 1970s, the Selectors and the Powers that be at the TNCA took a judgement call based on my approach. They liked the way I batted and saw something different in me and encouraged me a lot. Unlike the more conservative and traditional players who built long innings, those like me could get out early because of the ultra aggressive style and hence needed that extra support. They really backed my style of play and believed that I could go a long way with that different approach that not too many adopted in that period in the late 1970s and early 80s.”

Play and become like Venkataraghavan – Elders tell him
It was a traditional practice in the century gone by for youngsters to take blessings from elders on special occasions or ahead of important events. He recalls as to why S Venkataraghavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/04/venkataraghavan75.html) was such a legend and an iconic cricketing face for Tamilians “When in my late teens, I began showing some promise in cricket, the blessings from elders would always be the same thing every single time ‘Play and become like Venkataraghavan’. It showed what an impact he had made in the minds of middle-class families in Tamil Nadu."
In the late 1960s, opener KR Rajagopal (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/03/kr-rajagopal-dashing-opener-brilliant.html) was a brilliant wicket keeper and had amassed huge runs in domestic cricket but could not get into the squad to Australia. Similarly, B Kalyanasundaram picked up a hat trick in the Ranji final and always picked up the crucial big wickets when his captain needed him to but he too was overlooked at even the zonal level. Srikkanth has great regard for Kalli in the way he contributed to TN cricket and that came through in the way he agreed to meet this writer (when Kalli spoke about this writer at the 1970s cricketing meet at MCC and suggested to Srikkanth that he should meet and get featured in this section, the trust factor - another distinctive characteristic of Srikkanth - came through. He trusted the words of Kalli so much that in a matter of a few seconds he agreed to meet this writer despite the fact that he has not met any other media house for a story on his cricketing career). 

In light of the above challenges that high performing TN cricketers faced in the 60s and 70s, Srikkanth credits Venkat's mental strength for holding his own in international cricket for such a long period "To play the kind of cricket he did at the international level amidst such stiff competition and to hold his own against three giant spinners was unbelievable. I had the greatest respect for him right from my childhood. There were times when he shouted at me especially when I did not meet his expectations and threw away my wicket but I took it in the right spirit that he was well meaning. He encouraged me a lot and was the guiding force and inspiration for me in cricket. He was my ‘Guru’ in cricket. I am also happy that I was able to fulfil the prayers and wishes of the elders. Like Venkat, I too did Engineering, played for India and also captained the country."

Sudden rise to cricketing glory
Srikkanth made his Ranji debut when he was just 19 in the 1978-79 season. Within a couple of years, he rose to great heights in cricket. Instead of donning the role of an engineer in the corporate world, he engineered a cricketing revolution on the cricket field with a style of play that was transformational “Like I said, till well into my teens, I had no cricketing ambitions. But its all Karma, and God decided that I should spend that decade in cricket and not as an Engineer. The big differentiator was that I scored big when it really mattered – be it the Irani Trophy match or the Zonal matches or those against visiting teams” says Srikkanth crediting all his success to the divine powers.

A great partnership with V Shiv – Opposite poles like each other!!!
In a glorious two year phase, Srikkanth forged a great opening partnership with V Sivaramakrishnan and the two posted several century stands both for TN and the Zone. It all began against Hyderabad in Dec 79 when Shiv came up against his brother Ramnarayan and almost notched a century with Srikkanth scoring 66. A month later the two put on a century stand in a Deodhar Trophy match playing for South Zone.

The knock against Goel gives him great confidence
The 1980-81 season was a big one for Srikkanth, one that catapulted him into the next phase in cricket. He scored close to 500 runs in Ranji Trophy including a belligerent 172 against Karnataka, once again sharing a century opening stand with V Shiv. But the knock that stood out that year was the fourth innings chase at Chepauk against the spin twins Rajinder Goel and Sarkar Talwar in the Ranji QF. Chasing over 250 to win, Srikkanth and Shiv posted another century stand to help take TN into the SF.

Srikkanth is philosophical about his big partnerships with Shiv in that phase “Shiv was a solid bat with a good temperament. We had a great understanding. When we went out to bat, he would ask me to play my strokes freely while he focused on giving me the strike. Yes, we did not have too many common qualities in the way we batted but maybe it was the case of ‘opposite poles’ coming together in a big way. I really enjoyed batting with Shiv and many a time we gave great starts to TN and SZ in that phase.”

He says that innings against Goel was a big confidence booster for him and it played an important role in him moving up the ladder in cricket.

The transformational season
The great start to the 1981-82 season got him into the teams against the visiting English side. He began the season with another century stand with Shiv in the Deodhar Trophy Final and followed that up with  two half centuries in the Duleep Trophy. He scored half centuries playing for India U22 and the Board Presidents XI against England, innings’ that got him into the squad for the first test in Bombay “In those days, scoring big against visiting teams counted a lot as the selectors kept a close watch on these matches to see if the players were up to it against the international teams. My knocks against England in these two matches went in my favour ahead of that first test.”

The Debut Test - Takes a stroll and is run out
The previous year Ian Botham performed extraordinarily in the one off Golden Jubilee test in Bombay with a 13 wicket haul and a century. And just a few months prior to this first test, Botham made a remarkable comeback in the Ashes after being stripped of the captaincy. The old Botham was back to his aggressive best as was Bob Willis, who too was on the verge of being dropped. Willis' 8 wickets to bowl England to that famous win in Headingly is still spoken about four decades later as one of the best spells in cricket. And Srikkanth knew he was up against two of the best that year and the spinner in Emburey, who too had played a role in the Ashes earlier that year.

Srikkanth recalls the tension that ran through his blood in that debut test “I was not yet 22 and had received an early break in international cricket. I was really tense in that test match and overwhelmed by the occasion.”

While he made a duck in the first innings, he was in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in the second. He was infamously run out by Emburey when he strolled down the wicket for a casual walk after playing the ball to Gully. “The bigness of the occasion got to me and it was a mindless act. Yes, I did not attempt a single but I had no business to walk out of the crease and they were right in running me out. It was one of those early lessons in international cricket and that came to me in my very first test match.”

But this wandering itself and him being in his own world was not new, for in a Ranji match earlier he moved around in the field all on his own much to Captain Venkat’s anger. Later that decade, in a WSC match against Australia, when he was hit wicket and no one noticed and appealed, he quietly picked up the bail and placed it back on the stumps and continued to bat!!! 

The first of the many big partnerships with Gavaskar
His debut was a huge disappointment to him and his fans back in Madras. He also scored a duck in his One day debut but he turned around the disappointment of the week in the 2nd test in Bangalore where he was to share the first of many great partnerships with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. However, Srikkanth looks back with a bit of disappointment in the way he let go that opportunity “In my playing career, there were many days when I let go the opportunity of converting my fifties into big knocks. This was the first of those on the big stage. I had put together a century stand with Sunny and was batting well at 65 and should have gone on to a century. A hundred in just my 2nd test after the way I got out in the first would have given me greater confidence but I missed that opportunity and gave away my wicket.”

Kudos to the TN and Indian Selectors of the time
Owner of TSM(TS Mahalingam & Co), 2nd hand car dealer, K Ravishankar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/k-ravishankar-alwarpet-tsm.html) played for Alwarpet for five seasons under Srikkanth starting 1987. It is a typically busy day at the TSM headquarters on Royapettah High Road and Ravi is at the receiving end of non stop calls from customers with queries on the sale and purchase of 2nd hand cars. But when he hears the name Srikkanth, he is all excited to talk for he considers Cheeka as a one in a generation and his All Time Favourite cricketer.  "For a youngster like me, he was the greatest blessing I could have had in cricket. He had no airs about himself, mingled with all of us as equals and wanted the youngsters to succeed. What a confidence booster it was for the teenage cricketers to have him around at Alwarpet."
 "The selectors of the time really need to be appreciated for having backed him early on. Based on pure stats and numbers, there were others at that time who made big hundreds but there was no opener in the country who could have batted like him. And the TN selectors, initially, and later the Indian selectors placed their faith on Cheeka and felt that his unique approach would put the opposition on the defensive. At a time, when you were told by your coaches to start slow, leave the first few balls alone and ‘pace your innings’, Srikkanth chalked out his own path but very importantly the selectors backed his approach when the selection methodology was to pick players who played the traditional way. It was a huge call by the selectors and it paid off for them through the 1980s."

The Greatest Chase in Domestic Cricket
At the start of the next domestic season, he played an innings that stands out as one of the best in his career. In the Irani Trophy match against Delhi, Rest of India were set a target of 420 in the fourth innings in less than 100 overs. Srikkanth, who made 83 in the first innings, recalls the message from his captain at the start of that chase “The rivalry between Bombay and Delhi was huge and Gavaskar did not like losing to Delhi. We had given away a big first innings lead and he was keen for me to give us a blistering start and asked me to go after their bowling.”

The fastest Indian bowler of the time TA Sekar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/ta-sekar-architect-behind-worlds-best.html) was part of that team and remembers watching that magical innings “Scoring over 4 runs an over was unheard of in those days and definitely not in the fourth innings of a match. The way Srikkanth treated Sunil Valson at the start of that innings was unbelievable. He really had the belief that we could win and that was always his differentiator throughout his career. He always played positively and to win and believed that anything could be achieved. It was one of its kind success and he laid the foundation to chase a seemingly impossible 420runs and we did it in 80overs. Srikkanth’s century stood out for its positivity and he impressed everyone with that knock.”

Srikkanth himself credits that knock for his selection for the tour to Pakistan that immediately followed.

(Interestingly, six years later, his TN opening partner VB Chandrasekar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html) played a similar belligerant knock in the fourth innings to chase out an unlikely 350+ target in the Irani Trophy)

Very helpful to fellow cricketers
Sekar was roped into the Indian team ahead of the fifth test after Madan Lal sustained an injury midway through the tour. He has a lot of words of praise in the way Srikkanth guided him in that last part of that tour “Throughout his career, he was always helpful to his colleagues. I landed up in Karachi just one day before the match and did not know any bit of Hindi (or Urdu). Srikkanth was very supportive that fortnight and gave me a lot of confidence encouraging me all the time from his fielding positing at Short Leg. He genuinely wanted his teammates to succeed and did everything in his might to give them that much needed confidence.” 

Score against Venkat and you will get in
Ravishankar recalls how Srikkanth motivated him and helped him get into the Buchi Babu team. "He came up to me at the end of the first day’s play against India Pistons and asked me to score big the next day as Venkat was watching me 'Perform against Venkat and show him that you belong'."

“It was his piece of advice that helped me concentrate the next day to score 96 before I got out to Venkat. I was soon roped into the Buchi Babu squad and I owe a lot of that to Cheeka in the way he encouraged and motivated me to make big scores. Alwarpet was a dream dressing room. He kept it light, the atmosphere was jovial and there was always good spirit when he was around. He made a big difference to Alwarpet. He was big hearted, trusted everyone around him and didn’t carry anything to heart. He was such a selfless cricketer."

Crowd lost interest after Cheeka's dismissal
Ravi says that he was always under huge pressure when he went in at No. 3 for Alwarpet "Sanku and Cheeka would blaze away at the start and when Cheeka got out and I went in and defended a few balls, the crowd got restless and slow handclaps would start that put a great deal of pressure on me. He set the standards so high at the start that it was an uphill task for a No. 3 like me to keep the crowd happy with my style of batting. The hands would shiver when you heard those claps from the crowd expressing their displeasure but Cheeka was always encouraging and allowed me to play my natural game."

Owe everything to Cheeka
Srikkanth's opening partner in the 1980s VV Sankapani (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/sankapani-vv_21.html) says that he owes all his success at the club level to Cheeka "In order to allow me to express myself, he would slowdown his pace of batting and ask me to bat freely. He gave me all the space and freedom to showcase my talent. He wanted me to play my strokes and always backed me when I got out early to a rash shot. It was his backing that gave me the confidence to play my strokes without the fear of being dropped hanging over your head. If I am today known a little bit for the way I played cricket, it was solely due to Cheeka's motivational talks and his encouragement. He was easily the best captain and a player's delight."

Bazball model in the 1980s!!!
While he did not make much of an impression through the matches in the first phase of the World Cup, one of his biggest moments in his cricketing career came in the final. He top scored in the final with 39, a knock that is talked about even today for the way he punished the greatest fast bowlers of the time. Middle order TN bat from the 1970s and owner of The Hindu, K Balaji, watched the final (he had also watched Richards’ century in the 1979 final at Lords) - https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/10/world-cup-1979-reliving-final-k-balaji.html- from a vantage position at Lords and is all praise for Srikkanth’s style of play in that phase “I had seen Srikkanth start off his TNCA league career in the mid 70s as a school boy in the same aggressive way that he later displayed at the international level. It is creditable that he continued in the same vein unmindful of the criticisms that came his way when he got out cheaply to a rash shot. For a World Cup final, when India were clearly the underdogs and against the best fast bowling attack in the world, he showed no nerves at all. I saw that square drive on one foot off Roberts from a reasonable distance and it was mindboggling- the confidence with which he played that shot. And so too the hooks that day of the bouncers that were hurled at him.”
“It is one thing to play aggressively at the domestic level and completely another to achieve success playing the same way at the international level against top notch fast bowlers. It is really creditable that he did not conform to the traditional style of the time and yet managed to succeed the way he did. He followed his natural instincts and unmindful of what others (the critics) thought of his game, he continued to pursue his unique style”, Balaji told this writer this week of how Srikkanth managed to buck the existing trend.

“I would say that he followed the Bazball kind of approach way back in the 1980s and that says a lot about Srikkanth’s thought process. He was way ahead of his time in terms of approaching the batting at the top of the order.”

BBC's Agnew experienced Bazball at Hyderabad in Jan'85
Jonathan Agnew, the Chief Cricket Correspondent of the BBC for the last 30 years,  was on his first overseas tour to India in 1984-85 having flown in from England mid way through the tour as a replacement after Paul Allot was injured. He played his first tour match against South Zone in Hyderabad ahead of the fourth test and immediately came to experience Srikkanth at his flamboyant best. Srikkanth scored 90 that day in a scintillating knock earning him a test recall for the Madras Test. Agnew himself did not play much of international cricket after this mauling. In a Podcast on Sunday (March 3, 2024) on the BBC, Agnew looked back at what Srikkanth did to him that day and his view endorsed Balaji's opinion on Srikkanth's approach in the 1980s "I probably had the worst bowling figures for an overseas fast bowler in that match. It was the most expensive five wicket haul (for a tour match) and I was taken apart by Srikkanth and gave away 100 runs in 19 overs which was unheard of in those days. But Srikkanth, who I met recently at the World Cup and had a hearty laugh about how he destroyed my confidence in that match, was really the 1980s Bazballer and hit me all over the park."
Photo Courtesy: BBC

Expectations soar
Srikkanth says that the World Cup Victory and his contribution in the final changed his life completely “When I came back to Madras, everyone started talking about my innings and the way I demolished the West Indian quicks. It was a feeling of conquering the ‘Everest’ and I was over the moon. The expectations among fans and friends shot up dramatically.”


On the test front, he went through a lull for a couple of seasons and it was not until the tour to Australia in 85-86 that he made any significant contribution.

Cricketing Peak
For a couple of years from early 1985, Srikkanth went through a glorious phase in his cricketing life. He captivated the worldwide audience with his dashing stroke play in the world championship of cricket (WCC) leaving even the Aussie commentators stunned. They had seen the West Indians play that style of cricket in the past and the only Indian who had given a glimpse of such attacking stroke play was Sandeep Patil with his knock in Adelaide earlier that decade but he did not last too long in the international circuit. The consistency with which Srikkanth tore apart the new ball attack sent shock waves across the opposition teams and 'there goes SriCant again' became an oft repeated phrase in the commentary box in the Australian summer of 85 and 86.
A Special Knock that he cherishes
While he played two scintillating knocks against Australia in the league phase in the WCC and then in the final against the Imran Khan led bowling attack, Srikkanth counts his knock against England as one of his favourite innings in his cricket career. It was a match famous for Sadanand Viswanath’s five dismissals and L Sivaramakrishnan and Ravi Shastri bamboozling the English batsmen with their turn but it was Srikkanth who set the Sydney crowd on fire with his breathtaking half century that afternoon It was the kind of knock that had been rarely seen from an opener in Australia and definitely not from any one from the sub-continent. None of the English bowlers had any answers to the way Srikkanth batted that day and he finally got out the only way he could have – run out beaten by a throw from the deep as he attempted a second run “That knock gave me a lot of satisfaction. It was one of the cleanest innings I played in one day cricket. Run a ball half century was unheard of in those times (from an Indian) and I played the perfect game that day. It ranks as a very special innings in my career and I cherish it to this day.”

The Humane side- WCC Final
Srikkanth’s humane side came to the fore in the WCC final when one of his favourite lofted shots over long off saw Ramiz Raja bang his chest against the railings. Srikkanth immediately showed great concern about the well being of Ramiz and that was a characteristic he displayed throughout his cricketing career. He always cared for his fellow cricketers.

His best test innings overseas- Flaying Bob Holland
He continued this one-day form in Australia into the test series later that year. Srikkanth had his best overseas test tour with a knock of 86 at MCG and a century at the SCG where he took a particular liking to the leggie Holland. Srikkanth considers taking on Holland and hitting him all over the park as an unforgettable experience “Only the previous year at the same ground, he had picked up a 10wicket haul against a very strong West Indian side at its peak. You never know about leggies. That knock gave me a lot of satisfaction and I count that as one of my best innings, overseas.”

In a matter of 12 months, Srikkanth had played his two most memorable knocks at the SCG.

Ravishankar is not surprised at the way he despatched Holland and recalls an innings at Chepauk that remains etched in his memory “Venkatramana had moved to Indian Bank from Alwarpet. After Sanku got out, I joined Cheeka at No. 3. While most count Srikkanth as a great player against fast bowling, he was equally outstanding against spin. On that day, he tore apart Venkatramana, who had already made his test debut by then and was in prime form. He hit him for over 50 runs in two overs including five sixers in an over and moved to a double hundred in no time. He hit Ramana to every part of Chepauk and showed what a class player he was against spin bowling too. He would look at the crowd and ask if they were happy. And when they wanted more, he hit another one into the stands. That's how entertaining he was and I was greatly privileged to watch one of the greatest innings in first division league cricket from the non striker's end."

Positive outlook made a huge difference
Sekar says that his was a significant achievement. "In a purist era, when the focus was on a strong defence, Srikkanth had the mental strength to buck the trend and play the way he wanted and succeed at the highest level. The biggest advantage he had was that he did not fear facing the fastest of bowlers and took them head on. It was very difficult to bowl to him as he hit the length balls over the top and hooked the short balls to the boundary. The selectors saw that as a big plus in him. He was always positive and energised his teammates with his outlook and instilled the feeling in them that a team could win from any situation. He rarely played for a draw." 

His Best and most favourite innings in Test Cricket
In February 1987, at his home ground where he had thrilled the crowd over the previous decade, he played the innings of his life with a century against a strong Pakistan attack “The Chennai crowd and especially the supporters from D-Stand hold a special place in my heart. It was their encouragement that had given me a big boost early on in my career even from the time I was just getting into Buchi Babu cricket. It was always my desire to pay back to them through a big innings at Chepauk in international cricket. To play that kind of a knock against Imran and Akram and the legendary leggie Qadir remains the most memorable innings of my test career. I can still hear the crowd cheering every stroke of mine that day.”

Kind Hearted and Found Joy in others' success
It was around this time that a cricketer from Madurai was spotted by Srikkanth and whose life was immediately transformed. From nowhere, it was Srikkanth who spoke to TVS Chief R Dinesh to send the teenaged M Venkatramana from Madurai to Madras. Venkatramana, who is just back in the city from a coaching engagement with the Kerala Ranji team looks back at how Srikkanth transformed his cricketing life “It was the annual inter office match in the 1980s between TVS Chennai and TVS Madurai where Srikkanth saw me for the first time. He was so good at spotting talent and helping young cricketers that he immediately called Dinesh requesting him to send me to Chennai for greater exposure.”
“It was a very important phase in my life and he gave me the big break at the right time. It opened up new opportunities for me and I went on to play U22 and U25 cricket. Within a year or so, I was in the TN Ranji team and then shortly after I made it to the Indian team. Without Srikkanth, I would have missed the bus. It was also Cheeka who, soon after my test debut, asked me to join Indian Bank for long term security.”

“He was very kind hearted, always looking to give opportunities to youngsters and took great joy in the success of others.”

Srikkanth - The surprise off spinner
End of 1988, he shone with the bat and ball against New Zealand including taking two five wicket hauls in the one dayers with his off spin. Unfortunately, a few months later in the final one dayer against the West Indies, he had his hand broken by Ian Bishop that ruled him out of the entire test series, one where his ‘Guru’ Venkataraghavan was the manager. Venkatramana bemoans that as a personal loss in his career "Had Cheeka been there for the test series, I may have played earlier on a turning track at Port of Spain and it may have given me a boost to my career, especially as I had performed well in the tour matches."

Makes a mark as a captain
In what was to be one of his biggest achievements in his test career, Srikkanth captained India in late 1989 to a famous series draw in Pakistan, something that had not been achieved in earlier periods, though he himself was woefully out of form with the bat. 

Once again, like with his batting, he credits his approach for his success in captaincy "As a captain, you need to show confidence in the team given to you. I trusted the players and had faith in them and allowed them to express themselves without any restrictions. It was the same reason that we were able to chase the huge target in the fourth innings in the Irani Trophy match in 1988. When they did not enforce the follow on despite  a lead of over 200, I told my players that we have it in us to chase whatever target they give us and instilled the belief that we could do it come what may. And it rubbed off on VB who played a once in a life time innings." 

Not changed one bit in four decades
TN opener of the time NP Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html), who later moved to SVPB Udumalpet first opened with Srikkanth at the U22 level in the late 1970s and also opened with him later in Sri Lanka in the Gopalan Trophy match. He met his opening mate at the 1970s cricketer meet organised by SM Krishna Kumar at the MCC in January (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2024/01/1970s-madras-cricketers-meet-mcc.html) and is surprised at how Srikkanth has remained unchanged over four decades “Cheeka is still what he was and remains a very good friend. There is no change in his attitude or mannerism. He had always been lively and helpful to anyone. He never held grudge against anyone and never complained or spoke a bad word about any cricketer. Whenever he meets, he never forgets to enquire about the well being of the family. For a player of his stature, it is amazing that he has not forgotten his early days in cricket and the players he played with before he became an international star."
Hat Trick man from the 1973 Ranji final B Kalyanasundaram (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/08/kalli-b-kalyanasundaram.html) was the Chairman of TN Selection committee when Srikkanth was the Chairman of the National Selection committee last decade. He echoes Madhavan’s sentiments and says that despite his huge success at the international level, he remained very humble and has always been down to earth. “Cheeka was the one who showcased to all the cricketers on how to hit over the heads of mid off and mid on. He paved the way for the upcoming generations to play fearless cricket. He is a big legend in Indian cricket having played a big role in India’s famous victories in the 1983 World Cup and the 1985 WCC tournament but has always remained very simple and never forgotten his old friends.”

Unfortunately, a rift with the BCCI cut short his captaincy stint and that remains one of his regrets. He had been unanimously praised in the way he handled his players and the way India came back with their heads held high after the Pakistan tour but he had to let go his captaincy when he believed he had it in him to captain the country a bit longer. 

Another special knock against Windies' quicks
At the tail end of his career, he gave one final reminder to his fans. In the triangular WSC match at Adelaide in December 91, he scored 82. He counts that as one of his best innings in one day cricket “It was a pretty fierce attack comprising of Marshall, Ambrose and Patterson and once again I scored a run a ball 82. That knock gave me a lot of satisfaction for I could show the cricketing fraternity that I could still hold my own against the fastest bowlers in the world.”

Displayed great warmth and was genuinely affectionate
With his international success, he was wanted by every club in the city in the 1980s but he would never leave the TVS group and Alwarpet right till the end for he believed that they backed him all the way and at the top of his career. Srikkanth told this writer in May 2022 that very early in his domestic career, Jolly Rovers had reached out to him but in his mind he had provided  a lifetime commitment to the TVS Group and would not move away from them irrespective of the lucrative offers. 

A day after he was with the PM of India at the MSME event organised by his firm in Madurai, TVS’ R Dinesh spoke to this writer on how he himself learned a lot of positive things from Srikkanth “For all his big achievements at the international level, he displayed no ego. He was genuinely interested in the game and enjoyed playing cricket at any level. He simply gave his heart and soul to the game.”

International Cricketer - By Train to Virudanagar to play a match!!!!
Dinesh is still awe struck with the simplicity of Srikkanth “In the 1980s, soon after he returned from an international match, he took a train from Madras and played a match in Virudanagar. It was mind boggling to see 10000 people come to watch a match in that town and every single person came just to see him. That was the kind of positive impact he had on people in that phase.”

“His biggest differentiator was the ability to connect with everyone. He could relate to the fan on the street and get into an engaging conversation with him. And the next minute, he could be talking serious intellectual stuff with the CEO. And his friendly Chennai lingo was a big hit with the cricketing community.”

"Even when you met him after a year’s break, the way he engaged with you made it feel like he was there with you the previous day.  For a man who achieved such great success at the international level with the greatest cricketers of the time being spell bound with his approach to batting, he displayed great warmth and was genuinely affectionate as a person off the field even when he was at his peak for India. Even today we are good friends because of that."

"I learned a great bit from the way he conducted himself and imbibed a lot of the positive qualities from him."

THE GREAT ENTERTAINER
Srikkanth went on to become the only Indian to win the World Cup both as a player and a selector. He provided a dashing start in the fourth innings chase in the tied test in Madras in 1986. He was a trend setter in international cricket in the 1980s with his dashing style of play at the start of the innings. It was only towards the end of that decade that New Zealand opener Mark Greatbatch followed his model in one day cricket. And it took another decade for Adam Gilchrist and Virendra Sehwag to adopt the aggressive model that Srikkanth had kicked off in the early 1980s. He was an extra ordinary fielder in the outfield as well as at short leg. 

His biggest contribution was the cheer he brought to everyone around - his teammates, the opposition and the crowd alike with that incident in the 1985 WCC semi final being testimony to the way he played cricket and entertained everyone. With Cairns going great guns in the final few overs to take NZ past the 200 mark (which was a big deal in those days in one day cricket), Srikkanth dropped a sitter at deep mid wicket. And then the next ball, he refused to go for the catch when Cairns hit another big one. In front of that huge crowd at the SCG, an angry Gavaskar, unhappy with his effort, dismissed Srikkanth away to square leg much to his anguish. But Srikkanth had the last laugh and with him the entire cricketing world too as the next ball was skied once again in his direction this time high to square leg and the great judge of a catch that he was, he held it with ease. Even as he was explaining the twilight as a reason for not being able to spot the previous ball, the cameras shifted its attention to a blushing Gavaskar who covered his face with his hat to hide his sheepish smile. That was Krishnamachari Srikkanth for you – always an entertainer.