"Chika" sports scribes' 'favourite' ?

If there is one cricketer who never had any problem coping with what the media says or writes about cricketers – harsh or otherwise, it is former India captain and Chairman of Selection Committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth. He underlined this fact on Saturday evening when in his acceptance speech, after being honoured with the Lifetime achievement award by Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association (TNSJA), sang praises of sports scribes saying “I have been lucky to have a kind press”. Pointing to a veteran cricket writer who holds the record of being the only Indian scribe to have covered 100 Test matches, ‘Chika’ said he had always taken that scribe’s criticism and praise in his stride. “It is very difficult to be Chairman of the selection committee in Indian cricket”, the former dashing opener suggested, and owed it to the media for making his life easy in that capacity.

Srikkanth recalled how, as a budding cricketer, he looked forward to his name appearing in the media whenever he did well with the bat. Every human being likes to be recognized. Every sportsperson likes to be praised and awards from journalists who criticise as well as sometimes praise them was special, said Srikkanth, who retired from first class cricket in 1992 after leading India on a tour to Pakistan.

And the encomium to sports media was complete when squash star Deepika Pallikal, who was also among the awardees (Sportswoman of the Year), observed that she had been lucky to have a good media. “That is not easy”, she observed to all round applause from sports scribes and many a national and international sportspersons who were among the audience at the function.