India’s former World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni highly praised the former ICC (International Cricket Council) Chairman and BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) President N Srinivasan.
Recently, MS Dhoni was present at the launch of a coffee-table book on Srinivasan at the Kalaivanar Arangam (Chennai) on Friday (December 28). This book, titled “Defying The Paradigm”, has been published in the celebration of Srinivasan’s 50 years of association with India Cements.
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MS Dhoni, the captain of IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) that has been owned by India Cement, was the first man to receive that book which was released by Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.
In this special day, MS Dhoni opened up his view on Srinivasan. He said, “You can love him, you can hate him, but you can’t ignore him. Majority of us definitely fall into the first category. I was fortunate to have been able to spend a lot of time with him, got to understand life, how you’re supposed to deal with failures, how you’re not supposed to give up, how to keep helping others to make sure they perform to their potential.
“My first interaction [with Srinivasan] was during a Test match when he became the [BCCI] Treasurer. He came in during a break and enquired about the payment. One of our cricketers said, ‘if we are lucky we will get it after four months’. Srinivasan looked around and said – ‘why is it that they have to wait four months for their payment’. It was looked after that.”
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Later, Dhoni added how Srinivasan helped him when CSK was running through a rough phase. He further claimed that he has a very special bonding with Srinivasan.
Dhoni added, “I got to learn a lot out of him. The interactions have been very friendly because I was with CSK for the longest time. Whenever CSK was going through a rough phase, a lot of interactions were about how we don’t mind the opposition winning the game. We don’t want to lose the game. He is someone who has played it very hard but very fair. With Srini sir, it was a very special bonding.”
Another former Indian captain and present India A & U19 head coach Rahul Dravid was also present in that launch. Dravid spoke out how Srinivasan made a crucial impact in his cricketing career.
Dravid told, “I would like to speak a few things which would signify the man that N Srinivasan was for me. I joined India Cements in 1994. Mr. Srinivasan would come to watch our league matches at the Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai.
“Not only would he come, what amazed me was his knowledge. At the end of a long day, we would come back to the dressing room and having a conversation. Mr. Srinivasan would join the conversation and what amazed me in those early years was his knowledge about league cricket. He would also know the scores of what was happening in other league games and how that would affect us in the table.
“Srinivasan’s achievements with BCCI and ICC have been encapsulated here. But for me the core of everything that has happened comes back to his love and passion for cricket.”
