Srikkanth’s son idolises Sehwag

According to me,he is the best player right now. Earlier,I used to like Brian Lara a lot,” the 21-year-old Tamil Nadu opener told PTI.

Anirudha’s performance in Twenty20 cricket had been an pretty impressive. With a strike rate of 133.64 per cent,he finished the fourth highest run-getter in the inter-state T20 tournament in 2007 and was named in the probables for the Twenty20 World Championship.

Asked what sets him apart from his illustrious father,who is now the national selection committee chairman,Anirudha said,“My batting is different from that of my father. My aggressive approach is just natural. Off the field,I am a very fun loving person.” But he stressed that he wants to be known as an all-round Cricketer.

“I want to be known as an all-round cricketer. As of now,my game is suited to the one-day format but I have to make sure that I could play both formats (50-50 and longer version),” Aniruddha said.

“I love playing in the longer version. But the irony is that I get picked only for one-dayers,” Anirudha,who represented South Zone in the zonal one-dayers for the Deodhar Trophy said.

The opener feels he has a lot to learn. “I have so much to learn. I have just started my career right now. I have taken it as if this is my first year. Yes,I have been in the circuit for quite a long time but this year I have started it afresh,” Anirudha,who made his first class debut as a 16-year-old in 2003-04,said.

Despite his father being the chief selector,Anirudha is aware selection to the Indian team is not an easy task.

“To realise the Team India dream is a long way to go. As of now that’s not on my mind. The only thing I want to do is improve as a cricketer. Selection to the national team is not really in your hand. It’s just purely on performance and God’s grace.” Being Srikkanth’s son there’s bound to be a burden of expectation but Anirudha is unruffled.

“The expectation is always going to be high but then the pressure is something that you put on yourself,how you look at the game. It really does not matter to me. At the end of the day,you are looked upon as a cricketer. As time moves on you are known as Anirudha not as Srikkanth’s son. What matters is what you do on the field,” Aniruddha said.

“As a cricketer what I have realised is that on the field there is no one to help you but yourself. Nothing has changed with my father becoming the selection committee chairman. I am the same to my Tamil Nadu teammates. Just that after he became the chairman,I see him very rarely,” Anirudha said.

He admits that his decision to play cricket was having watched his father bat.

“In my younger days he has contributed in my becoming a cricketer. But now I am playing cricket because I like it. I think I took up cricket because it came naturally to me. Right from my first stage of playing sport,I remember,the only thing I wanted to do was to play cricket. I was not thinking about any other sport. Cricket was always on my mind.” Asked about his father’s role,Anirudha said,“He is someone I can always look up to at any point of time. He is very optimistic and that has had a huge impact on my mental frame.” A Chennai Super Kings recruit in the Indian Premier League,Anirudha said the T20 extravaganza has done a world of good to cricket.

“IPL has had a huge impact on us. Critics might think it would spoil Test cricket but as far as I am concerned,it has improved cricket. If you look at the shots being played these days,those were not seen 10 years ago. Moreover,you get to rub shoulders with the world’s best cricketers,” he signed off.