Born on 21st December 1959, in Chennai, Kris Srikkanth exploded on the international cricket scene when he was 21. With his high-octane batting style, he was one of the heroes of the 1983 World Cup and also starred in the 1987 and 1992 tournaments.
He was a swashbuckling opening batsman, who ripped through the toughest bowling attacks with his fearless pulling, hooking and driving. Spotted for his keen eye and quick reflexes, he was a great crowd puller. He scored his 4,092 runs in 146 ODI (One-Day International) matches, at an average of 29.02. In test matches he scored 2,062 runs from 72 innings (with an average of 29.88). His highest score in test matches and ODIs was 123.
By the mid ’80s, he had learnt to discipline his attacking methods, and stayed on as a regular opening batsman till 1989. That very year, he was made captain for the Pakistan tour, in which he succeeded in drawing all four test matches. However his batting failed to click on the tour.
Srikkanth was a natural ODI player, for, at the time of his retirement, he had scored more runs and centuries than any other Indian player, and that too in a very short period of time. Truly one of India’s cricketing greats.
