Krishnamachari Srikkanth

Early career Srikkanth represented Tamil Nadu and South zone in Indian domestic cricket. He made his first class debut during the 1978–79 season. He was the captain of the first ever youth test played by the India national under-19 cricket team in the 1978–79 season.

International career Debut and early years Srikkanth made his One Day International (ODI) debut at the age of 21, against England in Ahmedabad on 25 November 1981. Opening the batting with Sunil Gavaskar, and India lost by 5 wickets. He made his Test debut two days later against England at Bombay.

1983 World cup and rise Srikkanth was part of the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He opened the batting and scored 156 runs in the tournament. In the final against West Indies, he top-scored with 38 runs. He was also part of the Indian team that won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket. India won the final after beating Pakistan where he top scored with 67 runs from 77 balls and won the Man of the match award.

Middle years Srikkanth has his most prolific years in terms of runs from 1986 to 1988 when he scored two centuries in tests and four centuries in ODIs. Srikkanth scored his first century in test cricket in the third test against Australia at Sydney on 2 January 1986. He scored 70 runs and took five wickets against New Zealand in an ODI match at Visakhapatnam on 10 December 1988. In the process, he became the second person ever to record the feat of scoring a fifty and taking a five for in the same ODI match after Viv Richards.

Captaincy of national team In 1989, he was appointed captain of the Indian team. Sachin Tendulkar made his debut under his captaincy in November 1989 against Pakistan. He served as the captain of the test team for four matches during the India's tour of Pakistan in 1990 and drew all the matches. He also captained the Indian team in 13 ODIs winning four and losing eight.

Later career and retirement Srikkanth played his last test match in February 1992 against Australia in Perth. He scored 72 runs in the match and took five catches, all in the first innings setting a record for the most individual catches by a non wicket keeper in an innings of a test match. He was named as part of the Indian team that competed in the 1992 Cricket World Cup and holds the unusual record of scoring the only run ever scored in international cricket at Ray Mitchell Oval, in Mackay, Australia when the only international match ever hosted at the venue was washed out after two deliveries. He retired from international cricket in March 1992 after the world cup with his last match coming against South Africa at Adelaide. He was known for his super-quick reflexes and scored majority of his runs through pulling and hooking or driving the ball. He was described by cricketers and commentators as one of the most entertaining batters of his era.

Post-retirement

Coach and chief selector Post retirement, Srikkanth served as the coach of the India A cricket team. On 18 February 2008, he was named as an ambassador for the Chennai Super Kings franchise for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 competition. On 27 September 2008, he was appointed as the Chief Selector of the Indian cricket team and served in the position till 2011. The selection committee led by him picked up the Indian team that won its second ever Cricket World Cup in 2011. On 20 December 2012, he was named as the ambassador of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the IPL.

Commentator and administrator Srikkanth serves as a sport commentator with various sports and news channels.

Television In June 2013, Srikkanth participated in the sixth season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, a dance competition. In February 2022, he participated in the first season of StarPlus's Smart Jodi as contestant with his wife Vidya.

Honors In 2019, he was awarded the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Statistics Runs Srikkanth has scored 2,062 runs in 43 matches in tests at a batting average of 29.88. He has scored 4,091 runs in 146 ODI matches at an average of 29.01. 2 2 2 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Home Drawn ODIs

Captaincy In 1989, Srikkanth was appointed captain of the captain of the Indian team and served as the captain of the test team for four matches.

YouTube Channel

He launched his official YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka, to engage with fans and share his insights on cricket. The channel features a range of content, including match analyses with his son Anirudha Srikkanth, personal anecdotes from his career, interviews with other cricketers, and commentary on current cricket events. Srikkanth's engaging style and cricket expertise have earned him a substantial following among fans.