It was under my tenure that Virat Kohli got the chance to shine, affirms Krishnamachari Srikkanth

One of the most revered and loved names in the country following the 1983-World Cup victory, Kris Srikkanth's journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Right from winning the World Cup as a player to being the selector during India’s 2011 World Cup victory, Srikkanth has been involved in all phases of Indian cricket. 

During an interview with TOI after winning the lifetime achievement award, he admitted it was a pleasure that the BCCI had decided to recognize his efforts and thanked them for the award. 

“It's a humbling moment for me, I want to thank BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah for giving me this award,” said Srikkanth. 

Srikkanth revealed how he was way ahead of the others with his batting style during his ultra-aggressive mojo compared to the uber-defensive Sunil Gavaskar. 

“Yes, when I think of it now, I feel that I was far ahead of my times in my approach to the game. My game would have been ideally suited to modern-day T20 cricket. I look at myself as a kind of trend-setter and it had a lot to do with my approach to life which was unorthodox,” he added. 

Further, he went on to talk about his explosive batting style and how the pacy-bouncy wickets in Chennai helped the right-hander to improve batting without a helmet. 

“We grew up playing on the matting wickets in Chennai and it was a blessing in disguise for me. Playing on such pitches where the ball used to come at a pace and with a steep bounce, allowed me to become a better player of short deliveries. I could play with or without helmet, the grill of the helmet was always a distracting factor for me.”  

Srikkanth’s time with the Indian team extended to the phase in Indian cricket when MS Dhoni lifted the 2011 World Cup at home when he was the selector of the Indian team. He admitted that it was easy for him to select the team alongside Dhoni, who had a keen eye on the players chosen. Further, he also reminded the world that it was under his tenure the now-Indian skipper Virat Kohli got the chance to flourish.

“When I took over as the chairman in 2008, my dream was to build a team that could win the 2011 World Cup. God has been kind and we had a captain like MS Dhoni, and the win was still one of the best moments of my cricketing journey. Let me also remind you, we were the ones who gave Virat Kohli the chance to flourish,” he concluded.