Current as well as former Indian cricketers were present at a function to mark the release of 'Defying the Paradigm,’ a coffee table book on N Srinivasan's 50-year journey with India Cements in Chennai on Friday.
Among the galaxy of cricketers, also present at the event were Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, G R Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, K Srikkanth, Anil Kumble, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, V V S Laxman, Ajay Jadeja, Syed Kirmani, Javagal Srinath and Dinesh Karthik.
The book was released by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and the first copy was received by Dhoni.
The country's World Cup-winning captains Kapil Dev and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and legends, including Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid, lavished praise on Srinivasan, vice-chairman and Managing Director of India Cements for bringing in reforms as an administrator and introduction of a scheme to benefit retired cricketers.
Most speakers highlighted Srinivasan's endeavour to promote the game of cricket and encourage new talent.
Dhoni said he had learnt a lot from Srinivasan and added he was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with him.
I got to learn a lot out of him as I have been a part of CSK for the longest time. I never knew I would be selected for CSK. It became a very perfect mix like rum and coke. Either you love him or hate him, but you cannot ignore him. Fortunate to have been able to spend a lot of time with him.MS Dhoni on N Srinivasan
Gavaskar said, "What an honour this is. I never played cricket as a professional because cricket wasn't a profession back then. But it now is, thanks to the thriving efforts of Srinivasan and other board members. In cricket his contribution is unmatchable.
He spoke about the one-time benefit for former players, the pension scheme not just for former players, but also for widows of former players.
"This doesn't happen in any other sport," Gavaskar added.
Kapil Dev hailed Srinivasan's role as an administrator and said today everyone wants salaries like Indian cricketers.
I met him 20 years back. We never had a person like him who could administer us when we were playing cricket. When we started playing, we wished we could have salaries like the Australian or English players. But today everyone wants salary like Indian players.Kapil Dev on N Srinivasan
“Nobody looks after sportspeople like Srinivasan has selflessly," he added
(With inputs from PTI)
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