New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Former India opener Kris Srikkanth was known to form a destructive pair with former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar at the top of the order. In fact, Srikkanth was in a way much ahead of his time because batsmen were known to play cautiously back then and he has said that it was this opposite approach that he and Gavaskar had that made their partnership a success story.
“Cricket Connected — Aatam Thodarattum” on Star Sports 1 Tamil this week will see the start of an exciting series – ‘Partnerships’ – that will highlight some of the greatest partnerships, be it in the bowling or batting department. This week’s episode throws light on partnerships among batsmen with one of the most flamboyant openers of all time, Kris Srikkanth along with Sadagoppan Ramesh and guest star Murali Vijay, reminiscing their favourite innings.
Speaking about his legendary partnership with Sunil Gavaskar, one of the all-time greats, Srikkanth said: “I made my debut in 81 and in the early 80s, nobody had seen that kind of game. When they saw me, everyone went like who is this batsman, who is playing across the line, hitting over the top and I did not worry about technique. Gavaskar on the other hand was a perfectionist. He had great technique, he used to leave the ball and everything so well. It is often said that opposite poles attract each other. He was the North Pole and I was the South Pole.”
Meanwhile, Star Sports 1 Tamil resident expert & former India opening batsman, Sadagoppan Ramesh also spoke about various other openers like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan. He also had a special word for left-hander from Down Under, Mathew Hayden. Speaking about the Aussie, Ramesh said, “Amongst the openers I saw in action, Hayden was someone I really thought was a great player. I always wished I could play the technique he uses.”
Murali Vijay, who made his debut in Sourav Ganguly’s last Test, spoke about how it was important for him to blend into a team with players from different states, languages & backgrounds. Vijay said, “First 10 matches, the feel in the dressing room, that atmosphere, that respect, people should have that comfort feeling in the dressing room – the comfort is very important in the dressing room. I feel that is very important in any level of cricket.”
