Laxman Sivaramakrishnan believes that K Srikkanth was an "aggressive captain", adding that he instilled confidence in young Sachin Tendulkar.
India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar made his debut in 1989 under the captaincy of Kris Srikkanth. Srikkanth, fondly known as 'Cheeka', may have only in four Tests and 13 ODIs, but former Indian bowler Laxman Sivaramakrishnan feels that he played a pivotal role in shaping up of Tendulkar.
Sivaramakrishnan said that Srikkant instilled confidence in a young Tendulkar during his debut.
“Cheeka (Srikkanth) was an aggressive captain. He provided a lot of results. He was very proactive,” Sivaramkrishnan said during a conversation on Cricket Connected on Star Sports.
“A player like Tendulkar made his debut under Cheeka’s captaincy. Cheeka’s encouragement to Sachin Tendulkar at that young age gave him confidence and he went on to become the world’s best batsmen. We’ve had a lot of inspirational captains, but I always feel Cheeka could have captained more.”
Sivaramakrishnan credited Sunil Gavaskar in guiding him "perfectly" during the initial stages of his career.
“Gavaskar’s captaincy and his man-management. I was only 19-years-old and I needed guidance and Gavaskar gave me that guidance perfectly,” he said.
Tendulkar, meanwhile, went on to play for 24 years for the Indian team, smashing the records for most runs in Tests and ODIs. In addition, he also holds the record for most number of centuries across both the formats of the game.
The Indian batting great also holds the record of playing the most number of games.
