Recalling S. Sriraman
He passed away on June 11, 1993, but S. Sriraman is fondly remembered even today by everyone who was fortunate enough to be associated with him – and also by those whose lives and careers he touched without perhaps even coming into contact with them. As a dedicated and dynamic cricket administrator, as a man of good taste who divided his time between the game and Carnatic music and as a compassionate human being who felt and shared your pain and anguish, they did not come any better.
Chepauk Stadium.
During his long innings, first as club official, then secretary of the Madras (later Tamil Nadu) Cricket Association, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and finally as president of the Board, Sriraman had just two questions while drawing up any scheme. Will it benefit the game? Will it benefit the players? If the project fulfilled the twin objectives, he would move heaven and hearth to get it passed, overcoming budgetary and any other considerations.
Even though he was firmly in the seat as TNCA secretary for 30 years, he was never a dictator who forced his views on fellow administrators or used threatening tactics. He was the most democratic of officials who welcomed constructive criticism. He was shrewd without being manipulative and was second to none in his public relations acumen. He had the happy knack of getting his point across and overcoming opposition with a fine touch of diplomacy. In all my years of knowing him professionally and personally – about a quarter of a century – I never saw Sriraman lose his temper. Even under utmost duress, even during the most acrimonious debate at an AGM – and this was more a rule rather than the exception – he maintained his cool, decorum and discipline.
As a rule, players and administrators are always at loggerheads with one another – very much like the proverbial mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. While the players accuse officials of living in an ivory tower, of not being in touch with reality and changing trends, of indulging in petty politicking instead of being genuinely interested in the game, the latter’s chief complaints against the players are that they are an indisciplined lot, that they are frequently too big for their boots, and show scant respect for elderly people and their experience. But if there was one administrator who succeeded in bridging the gap between players and officials, it was Sriraman. Such was the awe he was held in that even the players respected him. They readily acknowledged that he had done a lot for the game and the cricketers. The tributes paid to him by the likes of Ajit Wadekar, Bishen Bedi and Sunil Gavaskar stand testimony to this.
The manner in which Sriraman backed Venkatraghavan is the perfect example of his foresight and his ability to pick a winner. Venkat was just a talented teenager when Sriraman first spotted him. But quickly making the correct judgement that there was something special about the boy, Sriraman gave him all the encouragement first as a player, and then as he rose to become South Zone captain, then Indian vice captain and finally Indian captain. Again, recognising his capabilities off the field, Sriraman appointed him as his successor as TNCA secretary and aware of his technical knowledge, also encouraged him to take up umpiring. Thanks to the confidence Sriraman posed in him, Venkat went on to make a name for himself in cricketing activities off the field too.
Sriraman struck an excellent working relationship with M.A. Chidambaram and they were the twin pillars of Tamil Nadu cricket from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. The influential duo also guided the fortunes of Indian cricket administration during much of this period. Chidambaram was BCCI president from 1960 to 1963 and treasurer for a number of years after that, while Sriraman held the top post from 1985 to 1988, besides being the secretary from 1965 to 1970. Behind the scenes too, the duo were responsible for many of the important decisions that governed Indian cricket throughout the extended period.
With all the many projects initiated for the development of the game and encouragement of the cricketers, Sriraman’s lasting legacy to Tamil Nadu – and Indian cricket – is the imposing M.A. Chidambaram stadium at Chepauk.
The seeds for the stadium were probably sown in the head of a teenaged boy sitting on the ground watching the Test match between India and England at Madras in February 1934. It was then, as legend has it, that Sriraman thought how fitting it would be for Chepauk to have a stadium where everyone could sit comfortably and watch the game. Exactly 37 years later, the dream came true when the foundation stone for the stadium was laid. The construction work was done in stages, because of the frequency that Test matches were being held at the venue and also because of the cost involved. The entire stadium took almost a decade to come up and, all the while, Sriraman watched it being built, brick by brick. In fact, in cricketing circles, it came to be known as ‘Sriraman’s baby’, so lovingly and faithfully did he nurture it. Today, when a younger generation sits back in comfort and enjoys the thrills of the game, let us remember the man who made this possible.
But perhaps Sriraman’s greatest trait was his humility. Basically a simple human being who loved the little joys life had to offer, he never changed his lifestyle even after he became Board president. He still travelled by the same old black Ambassador, still stayed in the modest house at Raja Annamalaipuram and still lived a Spartan life.
And when his term was over, he slid quietly into retirement, shunning a comeback into administration via some post or the other. Many prominent board officials have indulged in this self-serving and humiliating exercise that Sriraman carefully eschewed. As Gavaskar, while paying tribute to Sriraman on his death, pointed out, this was “like coming back as a clerk after having served a company as its managing director.’’ Sriraman firmly avoided the spotlight in his last few years, only speaking out on certain important issues when asked for his views about them.
For his dedicated service to the game over half a century, Sriraman remains the quintessential selfless cricket administrator who made sure that India’s voice was heard loud and clear at International Cricket Council meetings. We could do with one with his democratic qualities today.