CSK Srikkanth Aniruddha

In the last fortnight, different sets of people have raised the issue of CSK’s poor performance this season. In a business interview that took place a few hours prior to a CSK’s match earlier this month, a Managing Director and the Business Journalist were tense at the end of the interview on the prospects of CSK that evening. Another Managing Director was watching the match this week while working late evening as his father was awaiting happy news of CSK’s perfromance. A third Managing Director had told this writer many years ago that the only IPL match that he followed was that of the CSK. A former features head of a newspaper did not know why CSK was playing so badly this year and wanted to know from this writer if there was any particular reason that she could not see. 

A common factor among all these fans was the passion with which they tracked and followed CSK. And the disappointment of the performance this year is palpable and questions are being asked by everyone. Just this week, a young group of boys all aged below 15years who play at the Corporation ground on St Mary’s Road also gave their loud verdict on Kedar Jadhav and CSK. 

But the timing of this morning's public domain pronouncement by former India Cricketer K Srikkanth and the allegations against Dhoni and Fleming is questionable and in poor light. He himself was a Mentor of CSK once upon a time when he was also a national selector at the same time (clear conflict of interest)!!! 

Former Ranji Player and off spinner from the 1960s R Chandrasekaran (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/r-chandrasekaran-sbi-globe-trotter.html) forwarded a video to this writer this morning of Srikkanth hitting out at CSK.  Interestingly, he had alongside him his son Anirudha who propped up points for his father to lash out.

Srikkanth begins by asking as to what Fleming is doing as the coach and as to why he is not raising the issues. He obviously seems to have insights into what is happening in the CSK dressing room and how Fleming after all these years at CSK has suddenly gone silent. And is doing nothing about the performance.

In the video, Srikkanth’s son talks about chances not being given to Abhinav Mukund for 2 years in the initial phase of IPL a dozen years ago (Abhinav then moved to RCB where too he did not play too many matches). Srikkanth himself was the mentor of the team in that phase. Did he ever raise the question in the public domain about Abhinav not being given a chance by CSK in the IPL and how his T20 career was ruined by CSK not giving him match opportunities. 

Clearly, Abhinav was not even a performer for TN in the T20 domestic tournament and he was more a long innings player. This section wrote in 2011 about Abhinav not being given a chance for CSK and that he should focus on longer version of the game for which he was best suited (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2011/05/abhinav-mukund-in-indian-test-squad-to.html?m=1) 

Then the son raised the question about B Aparjith sitting out for 4-5 years without playing a single match. Having not previously raised, Srikkanth now says that the ‘bench’ was left hot after Aparjith having sat there for 5 years in a row.

Srikkanth makes a comment about Aniruddha (the local flavor) being in the CSK team those two years just under a decade ago and CSK winning the IPL. Is Srikkanth saying that the local boy Aniruddha’s presence on and off the field contributed to CSK’s IPL Victory in those years? They then talk about TN players being in the CSK team at the beginning of the last decade and they name Ashwin, Balaji, Badrinath and Vijay (Aniruddha was the 5th player in that ‘local flavour’ list) as contributing to the local flavor for CSK. All four were international players at that time with two of them playing active international cricket in that phase. 

He then goes to the extent of saying that all the other TN players are thankfully in other IPL teams indicating that had they been here, they too would have been sidelined.

Calling this as a 'brutally honest' opinion, they also talk about the fitness levels. Aniruddha, who has played for TN and was in the CSK squad asks one to take a look at Piyush Chawla and asks if he looks like a cricketer. Aniruddha seems to have forgotten his own fitness levels during the best of his times for TN and what his teammates thought of him, his fielding, his running between the wickets and his fitness. There was always the talk in the TNPL (and earlier) as to why he was chosen a wicket keeper!!! The cricket fraternity in TN knows as to why he played as the keeper.

Will he be BRUTALLY HONEST  about his cricketing phase and his entry into the CSK squad and the TN team and his onfield performances there and what every state cricketer and the selectors of the time thought of him. One cannot be selectively 'Brutally Honest' about opinions.

This section had written about Aniruddha’s selection for the TN T20 when he had not performed enough (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/01/aniruda-srikkanth-t20-selection.html). While on honest opinions on TN cricketers, a TN Selector had told this writer a few years ago on ‘the pitch’ made for Aniruddha to be included in the TN squad through a telecon on the eve of the Selection committee meeting. 

Srikkanth says that it is unacceptable for Dhoni to have made the comment that there was no spark in the youngsters. Srikkanth is no more a mentor of the CSK and is sitting far away in the studios in India. Of course, as a former selector snd CSK mentor, he would have a direct line to Dhoni and definitely to Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of CSK. He should ask them as to what was meant  by lack of spark in youngsters. Dhoni has for long built a reputation of backing youngsters and been heralded for making youngsters perform beyond their potential. The CSK performance over 12 years has been a great success story in terms of the number of finals they have reached. Dhoni alone can shed more light on what is missing in the youngsters of the current team. And it is likely he would have spoken about those factors to the youngsters. 

What is the trigger for Srikkanth to come out with such statements at this point of time when he did not raise any of these in the last few years, and in the tone and manner in which he and his son have done it. The cricketing fraternity of Madras who know them well may ignore this video as they say they often do but the lay man on the street, a CSK fan, may tag in with this sentiment of the Dad and Son. 

Did Srikkanth make these loud comments after the auction in any of the last many years on how local flavour is missing and who from TN should have been picked by CSK? Interestingly, Aniruddha replaced Abhinav in the TN T20 squad as the selectors of the time did not think Abhinav was suited for T20 cricket. This section had written about Abhinav being dropped from the TN's one day squad six years ago (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/03/abhinav-mukund-dropped-from-tn-one-day.html).

During the last two years, did Srikkanth repeatedly make the point that only 'oldies' were being given a chance by CSK and local TN youngsters were being repeatedly sidelined. He calls it 'favourtism' within CSK. In the years that he was associated with CSK and he has known Kasi Viswanathan for decades (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/ks-viswanathan-tnca-bcci-ipl.html?m=1), did Srikkanth raise this issue with the CEO of CSK.

Two years in succession after the ban, CSK performed at the top of their potential and received rave reviews. The old age and experienced hands was cited as an example for performers. And this year, when they are down, the opportunists are cashing in and asking questions that they had not asked for over a decade. Definitely, the CSK fans would like answers to the current problem and there are ways to ask those questions. Till this season, Dhoni was seen as a Demi God and suddenly everything from 'local flavour' to 'opportunities to Chennai's youngsters' has become a topic for two of the former cricketers who were once part of that institution. 

The tone and manner of the video as well as the content is a very irresponsible way to talk in the public domain for a man who was once the Mentor of CSK and the National Selector at the same time. Srikkanth is clearly trying to tap into the current negative sentiments of the CSK fans by igniting the issue of local flavour and opportunities for youngsters. The video is disappointing and the comments of legendary Srikkanth questionable.Even if these are valid points – Yes, every CSK fan/follower would like TN players in the team- why did Srikkanth not raise any of these in the public domain over the last 5-6 years. 

In the phase between 2008 and 2012, Srikkanth did not raise the question of lack of match opportunities to Abhinav at CSK. Neither has he in the past about Aparjith. Suddenly he is using the mood and sentiments of the CSK fans to his advantage and striking hard on issues that he has not brought up over the last decade or so. In any case, the tone and manner of both the son and the father is deplorable and unacceptable and unbecoming of a cricketer of Srikkanth's stature.