IMPORTANT - SRIKKANTH INTERVIEW ON ICF ! Let's hear your questions

[Predator_05]

Thanks to one of our members, HariSampath, we are now able to get in touch with renowned ex-Indian cricketer and now TV commentator, Kris Srikkanth. We would like to interview him, so feel free to put forth any questions you may want to ask. Bear in mind that all questions will go through a "filtering process" done by the admin of this site to determine which questions are the best and most likely to elicit a proper response. Don't let that put you off though, because in all likelihood your question will be selected - this is just a precautionary measure. If you don't know much about Srikkanth, you can read the following profile and then formulate your own question based on it;

· Played 146 One day Internationals and 43 Test Matches for India all over the world between 1981 and 1992, as an innovative and attacking opening batsman, widely considered as a crowd puller worldwide, particularly in the more than 20 International venues in India. Srikkanth’s Career spanned over different generations of cricketers from GR Vishwanath in late 1970s to Sachin Tendulkar in early 1990s · Played in 3 World Cups, 1983, 1987, and 1992, top scorer for India in the World Cup Finals 1983, and World Championship of Cricket Finals 1985, both won by India. Considered as one of the players to have put India on the World map of One day Cricket, as a brilliant batsman and fielder, against the greatest Cricketing teams of the World in the 1980s; Was recently voted in a worldwide poll as one of the players in an All Time Indian XI for One Day matches. · Captained India in MRF-Nehru World championship, and also in Test matches in 1989. First Indian captain date to return undefeated from a tour of Pakistan. · Eminent Cricketers like Kapil Dev, Azharuddin, Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumble, Ganguly. etc., played under the captaincy of Srikkanth. As a Coach of the Indian Under-19 and India A teams One of the most successful coaches of the Junior Indian team, as well as India A team, from 1997 to 1999. · Groomed and built up most of the successful players in the Indian team now, many cricketers owe their careers to Srikkanth. · Represented India in the International Cricket Conference (ICC) Technical Committee where Srikkanth’s innovative ideas for the improvement of the game were greatly appreciated. His roving overs concept presented to the ICC resulted in what we now have as “power playsâ€. · Was the natural candidate for appointment as Coach of the Indian Cricket team after tenure as Indian Under-19 and Indian A team Coach, as per tradition; all three previous Indian Coaches were elevated in this manner. But Srikkanth was the only former Indian Captain and Coach who was not elevated.

Ask away.

[Guest HariSampath]

Thanks Preds....yeah, everyone shoot away.... I have some time limit with Srikkanth for Friday/Saturday.. that is 48 hrs from now...so intelligent , smart value added questions will be appreciated.....for example mine shall be..as follows.. " Srikkanth, you were always known as a reflexive impulsive stroke player. Please tell us, what does it it take for an opener like you to make a decision on shot decision, and how long do you have really against Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Imran ,Lawson etc...enough time to evaluate team interests or just is it instcinct ? "...... just a small sample folks..... so go ahead...

[dial_100]

Kris, I have a question for you. Why is that we have not been able to make it clear in the domestic circle itself that fitness and fielding is the most important thing in modern cricket? Is it difficult to have say 4 common fitness training centers in the 4 regions of the country so that even before player makes it to the game at First Class level, he gets his training done at this center, so that he has the basic understanding of fitness level he needs to maintain all the time. Thanks a lot.

[Predator_05]

4. During your stint as coach of the Indian u19's and India 'A' sides, who were the most talented youngsters you managed ?

[Online]

Do you see a bit of yourself in Sehwag? What is going wrong with him and can we realistically hope of him getting back to his original form?

[kabira]

You were once hit by Wasim Akram and I have heard from my cousins that after that you were never a same player against him, relunctant to play your strokes. Is this true?

[Bumper]

1) Cheeka, i have seen you play the same way, whether you played for Alwarpet or Tamil Nadu or for India (facing the most hostile fast bowlers back then). Did you ever feel the need to adjust your approach (as modern day cricketers seem to do) ? 2) You had an unique batting stance. Any specific technical reasons for spreading your legs so wide ? 3) Who was the most fearsome bowler you ever faced, the kinda bowler that would make you wonder, how am i gonna get through his spell ? 4) Talk us through your highs & lows as a cricketer.

[kabira]

What will be your most cherished moment on cricket field? If you had to play cricket today, what would you change or do differently? Tell us more about your son? Do you seriously think that he can play for India?

[fineleg]

What will be your most cherished moment on cricket field? If you had to play cricket today, what would you change or do differently? Tell us more about your son? Do you seriously think that he can play for India?

Any father is going to want to believe and say yes.

[kabira]

no hijacking allow Finey

[gator]

1. Just wanted to let you know, you are in the top 5 of my all-time odi players in the world, just for the way u revolutionized odi opening. I still remember the time when you hooked Imran out of the ground, after he explicitly set u up for that, by setting a fielder or two there and did follow it up with an express bouncer. Could you talk us through that. 2. Who is the fastest bowler u have faced. Who is the most effective bowler you have faced. 3. You were pretty successful as a captain. Could you give us the real reason for your ouster. 4. As a captain or coach, you would like to have 130kph line and length bowlers in your team or 145kph express tear-aways who lag a little in control. 5. Do you still have hopes of becoming the indian team coach. I know, u did pretty well with the U19. Infact, was it you who first identified Agarkar as an exceptional talent. 6. who would you like to partner opening the batting in an odi with - Gavaskar, Sehwag or Tendulkar. 7. Why has TamilNadu cricket gone downhill since the 80s, when it had yourself, VB, LS etc. 8. How fast do you think Kapil bowled at his peak?

[Gambit]

Do you think the quality of pitches and bowling today is at it's lowest since you've played and watched cricket?

[Ram]

Personal -

• You were a swashbuckling batsman in an era where a RR of 4 runs was considered electric fast. In fact , you could even be considered as a pioneer of the art of attacking batsmanship in one-day cricket . What was your idea behind such an approach ? Was it a conscious decision to attack or just your normal game ?

• Who would you consider the best batsman ,bowler and captain of your era ?

• During the world cup 1983 final , what was the mood of the team during the lunch break ? As one of the architects of two of India's greatest one-day triumphs , what are your thoughts on those incidents now ?

• One innings that you can look back now and say with pride " Thats the best one i played"

• Your captaincy was surrounded by a lot of controversy, How would you rate yourself as captain ?

• Do you think being a naturally attacking batsman is actually an asset or liability ? History has shown that it is batsman with a more compact technique and subdued method of stroke-play who go in to amass most runs

• Your favorite cricketing movement ? Apart from the world cup and world championships triumph

• Any funny personal anecdote that you can share with the readers ?

On the Current Indian team -

• How would rate our chances in the forthcoming test-series against Pakistan and Australia ?

• What is your policy on the role of seniors in the Indian team ? Do you favor an all-youth policy for the one-day team ?

• What is your take on Kumble being appointed as the Captain of the Indian cricket team at the age of 37 ? Do you feel the mantle should have been passed on to some one who is younger ?

• Being an opener yourself , how would rate the current Indian opening pair of Dinesh Karthik - Wasim Jaffer ? Do you think they will be able to succeed against the pace and bounce of the Pakistani bowlers and Australian pitches ?

• Your views on the current fast bowling crop ? India seems to have much more depth in pace bowling rather than spin nowadays, does that surprise you ?

• Your take on the coach issue ? Having seen mixed results with foreign coaches , do you think it is time to appoint an Indian coach ?

• Yuvraj Singh has been knocking on the doors of the test-team for a while now. Do you think its time to induct him into the team , looking past the claims of players of Laxman and maybe even Ganguly ?

On Indian cricket and in general , world cricket -

• What is your view on the recent racism allegation that Australian players highlighted against the Indian crowds ? Do you think it could have been handled better ?

• On the protracted delay in choosing the coach of the Indian cricket team ? Do you think the BCCI is really dragging its feet in this issue ?

• Do you think Indian cricket should move away from preparing spin-friendly tracks at home and prepare ones with more pace and bounce ? A lot has been said and claimed on this issue but we havent seen much progress.

• What is your take on 20/20 cricket ? You think it is just a short-term blip or something that is there to stay ?

• How do you view two senior Indian cricketers turning down the role of Indian captain in the last 3 months ? Being an former India captain yourself , is it really such a hard job ?

• Do you think the current domestic structure of cricket needs reform ? There is a complaint there are just too many teams and that dilutes the quality.

• What about the system of Zonal selectors ?Do you think that promotes bias ?

• It has been said that Tamil Nadu has always got the rough end of national selections. Despite having a very vibrant cricket culturs , TN's share of Indian cricketers hasnt been as high as say Mumbai or Karnataka. Your views on the subject ?

And if you guys want to add some lighter element to the interview ,you may try these ones too .

• Where did you learn your Hindi ? Especially that accent ?

• Anirudh is coming up the ranks now , Is he a better batsman than Dad ?

• The pull-shot you hit of Marshall in the final , Did you really see the ball on to the bat ?

• Who do you think is a better cricket Commentator ? Kris Srikkanth or Mandira Bedi ?

[Guest HariSampath]

Quote by kabira What will be your most cherished moment on cricket field? If you had to play cricket today, what would you change or do differently? Tell us more about your son? Do you seriously think that he can play for India?

Any father is going to want to believe and say yes.

Lol , I can tell you that for a fact !!! Anirudh Srikkanth, although just about 20, has already figured in the India 30 probables for the T20 world cup and also in the India A squad as a substitute. He may probably play for India as a ODI/T20 player in maybe a year or so, who knows... but an interesting comment from someone HUGE in Indian cricket....( after the T20 finals between Tamil nadu and Mumbai which Tamil Nadu won, with Sachin playing for Mumbai and Anirudh Srikkanth for TN, scoring a very useful 40-50 to win) " If Srikkanth junior plays for India in the next season or so, won't it be a record unimaginable for Sachin? he made his debut under Srikkanth Senior and now in his last few seasons is playing alongside Srikkanth junior !! wonder which cricketer in the world can claim such a record as Sachin and it shows how lasting he has been through an entire generation" ........ Lol... even Srikkanth cracked up and said he hopes his son would get a chance to play along with Sachin for India, just so he himself enters the record books as Sachin's first captain.:D

[Predator_05]

Damn. So many good questions. Selecting 20-25 of them will be tough

[Lurker]

Good one Hari. Here are my questions: 1) I think of you as the original 20/20 player. Great strokeplayer and an excellent fielder who could turn his arm for a couple of quick overs. Do you think you were a little ahead of time? And would you have liked to play in T20? 2) Why has India always had a solid, if not spectacular opening pair, while many countries(Pakistan for example) struggle to do so? In the past 20 years we have had you-Sunny, you-Shastri, Shastri-Sidhu, Sachin-Ganguly, Sachin-Sehwag etc. It is all just a matter of chance or is there something more? 3) I remember a LOI in which you hit Marshall for successive four and then a six(or was it six and then a four?) and was bowled off the 3rd delivery(the good old radio days). How would you rate Malcolm Marshall as bowler and what would be your top 5 best bowlers list look like? 4) As a cricketer who was an excellent fielder what would your advice be to the young lot? 5) And finally I couldnt possibly let you go without asking about Kapil Dev. As a player who was a very vital member of 80s Indian team and also the member of 1983 World Cup, 1985 WSC, 86 Rothamans Cup etc. how would you describe Kapil and playing alongside him? Also if you and Kapil got to play 5 overs together in a 20/20 game today how much runs do you think you 2 could pile on. Thanks. xxx

[Guest HariSampath]

On the subject of interesting things in Srikkanth's career, I had an old database of comments / incidents involving him, and here's one :-) ( just an old reminder and no need to ask Cheeka, though he will remember this one well ! ) >>>After the WCC in Australia in 1985, Imran Khan was asked by an Aussie journalist about his runins with Krish Srikkanth ( who was the player of the finals which India won). Imran Khan said " The guy is unpredictable, I don't try to get him out, I let him do the job himself. I bowl a rank bad full toss and he pats it back down the track, and next ball is a perfect outswinger and he hits it over covers for a 4. And the thing is you cant even curse the guy, he takes a walk to squareleg after each ball "<<

[gator]

another question: i rememeber u picked up 2 5'fers in a odi series..... for indian bowlers, 5'fer in odis is very rare.... it is hard to call it a fluke, if it happens twice.... do u think, u could have developed ur bowling more.... is there anything special u did to claim those 5'fers...

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

Hari, you are doing a really good job...keep it up! and thx

[chamatkar]

Melody itni chocolaty kaisey bani?