Srikkanth snubs talk of pressure

During his playing days, Krishnamachari Srikkanth was renowned for his carefree approach to batting. Much before the term 'pinch hitting' was coined in one-dayers, he relished taking the aerial route when the field restrictions were in place.

His square-drive off Andy Roberts in that 1983 World Cup final would have surely made even Gundappa Viswanath proud.

In the year when the Indians are celebrating the silver jubilee of their only World Cup win, the highest scorer of that final (38) became the first 'paid' chairman of the national selectors in India. Srikkanth has succeeded Dilip Vengsarkar and is ready for his first assignment of picking the best Indian team to face the Australians in about a week. Following are the excerpts from an interview:

Question: On how does it feel to be the chief selector.

SRIKKANTH: It's an honour and a great responsibility. I am happy the board has entrusted me with this and shall try my best to perform to the best of my abilities.

On the job at hand

It's a very challenging job. Selection is always like that. It's a busy schedule in front of Indian cricket. First, we have to play against the world champions and we have to pick the right team to be able to beat them.

On the pressure of being the chief selector of Indian cricket

I was never under pressure during my playing days as I wanted to enjoy the game. I want to follow the same philosophy while trying to select the best-possible team to represent our country. There is no pressure at all. However, the challenge is inviting and I am ready to grab it.

On his immediate targets

Our target is to be fair, responsible and honest. There will be no bias of any kind in selection.

On the priorities

Our immediate priority is to select a team that performs well in the Test series against Australia. That is the immediate goal. After that, we will try to build a team for the 2011 World Cup.

On the previous committee led by Dilip Vengsarkar

The previous selection committee led by Dilip Vengsarkar has done a good job. Now it is upto us to continue to do the same. At the end of the day, we all are working towards the betterment of Indian cricket.

On his fellow members in the selection committee

All of us have played cricket together. We know each other and get along well. So, it will be great to work with the colleagues once again..

On whether his job of Brand Ambassador for the IPL Chennai team will clash with his job profile

Let's see what the BCCI guideline says about it. I am ready to follow the instructions.