"I didn't worry about technique; Sunil Gavaskar was a perfectionist": Kris Srikkanth 

Kris Srikkanth looked back at his unique opening duo with the great Sunil Gavaskar.

Kris Srikkanth | TwitterAs an opening pair, Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth couldn't have had more contrasting approach to the art of batsmanship. Gavaskar was about unwavering focus on technique and playing out correctly against the new ball while Srikkanth believed in hitting anything that came in his half, irrespective of the situation. In a way, he was ahead of his times, with that amazing bravado, going after the bowlers right at the beginning. 

Read Also - "Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Murali Vijay are my top picks as a selector": Kris Srikkanth 

'Cheeka', as he is fondly called, reminisced of his partnership at the top with one of India's greatest batsmen and explained what made them click together on 'Cricket Connected -- Aatam Thodarattum" on Star Sports 1 Tamil. 

"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," said Srikkanth. 

"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," added the 60-year-old, who opened with the legendary figure in quite a lot of his 43 Tests and 160 ODIs. 

Opening together in 34 Test innings, Gavaskar and Srikkanth averaged 43.20 for the first wicket, including three hundred and nine fifty partnerships. In ODIs, across 55 innings, they made 1,680 runs at an average of 30.54, with 2 hundred and 11 fifty partnerships at the top. 

(Inputs from IANS)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 06 Jun, 2020

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