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Gifted with a good eye and super-quick reflexes, Srikkanth’s buccaneering methods quickly caught the eye of the selectors and he made his international debut at 21. Consistency however was not his watchword and he was more out of than in the Indian team. But by the mid 80s, his attacking methods had acquired some discipline and he remained the regular opening batsman till 1989. Appointed captain for the tour of Pakistan that year he achieved a major triumph when the team drew all the four Tests. But the selectors pounced on his batting failures and he only made it back after two years in the wilderness. By this time, he was over 30 and he did not have the reflexes of old. And when he was not selected for the South Zone team in 1993, Srikkanth, at 33, announced his retirement.
If his Test record is impressive, given his sometimes outrageous batting style, he was a natural for the limited overs game. At the time he quit the scene, Srikkanth had scored more runs and more centuries than any other Indian cricketer and he made them in double quick time exasperating some of the finest and fastest bowlers in the game. He was one of the heroes of the World Cup triumph in 1983 and also played in the competition in 1987 and 1992.”
Though he was less successful in Test cricket than in one-day internationals, Srikkanth had an excellent tour of Australia in 1986, when he led the batting averages, scoring his only overseas Test hundred in the process. He also shaped well almost every time he went to the crease during India’s triumphant 1986 tour of England, though he did not play too many long innings. An unusual feature of Srikkanth’s career was the number of successful teams of which he was a member. Besides the 1983 World Cup and 1985 WCC triumphs, he was also captain of the Tamil Nadu team that won the Ranji Trophy in 1987-88, though he was not available during the knockout stage of the season. Published by Kalamkriya Ltd and distributed by EastWest Books (Madras) Pvt. Ltd, the book, 'The Mosquitos and Jolly Rovers' is priced at Rs 295. Kalamkriya, 9, Cathedral
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In a well-written profile in www.cricinfo.com
Partab Ramchand has described the unorthodox entertainer K Srikkanth in the following words: “In his time the Indiana Jones of Indian cricket, Srikkanth’s batting style was entertaining, innovative and explosive. Indeed, his approach came as a whiff of fresh air and, not unexpectedly, he was a great crowd puller. A swashbuckling opening batsman cast in the Mushtaq Ali mould, Srikkanth could decimate the strongest and most fearsome attacks in the world by fearless pulling, hooking and driving. But there were times when he could be dismissed by some pretty ordinary bowling.
Srikkanth redefined opening batting by carrying his approach in school and college cricket into first class and Test cricket. Blessed with a fantastic eye, quick feet and positive thinking bordering on the reckless, the Tamil Nadu batsman entertained crowds all over the world like few others during his international career in the eighties. He believed in belting the ball no matter what the situation of the game and who the bowler. His daring assaults on fast bowlers of the calibre of Imran Khan won him thousands of admirers just as his demolition of world class spinners like Abdul Qadir did. His finest moments were the 1983 World Cup final in which he made a dashing 38 and the World Championship of Cricket in 1985, when he won Australian crowds over with his explosive batting and good fielding. Srikkanth was a surprisingly effective bowler in limited overs cricket, twice capturing five wickets in an innings.
