It was not his home turf; yet Krishnamachari Srikkanth played his usual self. He spoke the way he executed his shots — with tact, power, style, command and aggression at times…
Converting into a pitch the stage at the GRD Institute of Management, Mr. Srikkanth played his innings and enthralled the audience at the inauguration of The Hindu Business Line Club on Friday. Tata Teleservices supported the event.
The former Indian captain told the management students that to earn name, fame and money in life they needed, among other things, to have confidence in themselves. “If you don't believe in yourself, don't expect others to repose faith in you. And, without self-confidence, talent, ability or any other positive attribute would not count.”
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He recalled how India defeated the mighty West Indies, deemed invincible, in the 1983 World Cup because of the confidence of the then captain, Kapil Dev. “Other players did not take him seriously at the team meeting when he said India could defeat West Indies. But his confidence was so contagious that it spread to other cricketers. And the same continued even when the team defended a modest 183 in the finals.” His confidence had helped the team, which fared so poorly prior to the start of the tournament, Mr. Srikkanth said.
“Work with passion”
The second most important thing was putting heart and soul into the job taken. Or, in other words, working with passion. “Notwithstanding the records under his belt in both forms of the game achieved during the past two decades, Sachin Tendulkar is still very passionate about the game. That's what sets him apart.”
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The third was positive approach. “Engage life with a positive approach, like playing front foot. Never play back foot in life, which is a mental game.”
He recalled Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup to explain positive approach. “Kapil believed he could help India win and he made it happen.”
He said the fourth important aspect to succeed in life was to think through the heart. Thinking through the mind would not help, as the mind could never arrive at a decision. It was always 50-50. Think through the heart and that's the way to success. “The heart or conscience is connected to God, who can never fail.”
The next important point was to keep innovating. “Unless you innovate, you will never succeed, especially in this fast-changing world.”
Mobile telephony
G. Ramprasad, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Teleservices, said the role of mobile telephony in driving Indian economy had not been fully appreciated. “Be it accessing doctors for emergency or markets for better price, mobile phone is playing a very important role.”
He told the students that the company was ready to help students who came up with mobile applications.
K. Venugopal, Joint Editor, The Hindu and Business Line , said the students were lucky because they were among the 10 per cent of the 20 million people of their age group that attended college. “You, students, are privileged and along with privilege comes responsibility. Responsibility towards your nation.”
He asked the students to turn entrepreneurs and provide employment to the not-so-privileged people of their age group.
Geetha Padmanabhan, Secretary, GRD Institutions, welcomed the gathering.