21 December,2009 08:21 AM IST | | Amol Karhadkar
Ever since his playing days, Kris Srikkanth is known for his tongue-in-cheek remarks. Well, even on the eve of his 50th birthday, the man who is now the chairman of BCCI's senior national selection panel remains the same old Cheeka, as he is called affectionately by his friends.
As he clocks a half-century on the turf of life, Srikkanth did not believe that age is catching up with him. "I still believe age is all mental. I am still very young. Mentally, I am just 20-25. I don't act matured. I don't want to act matured also even if I can. I don't believe in showing maturity in age," Srikkanth told MiD DAY from Chennai yesterday.
"I believe in being young at heart. If you are young at heart, your body also becomes young, I believe. And I am a firm believer that you have only one life, so you should enjoy it to the fullest. Why do you want to act like a 75-year-old when you are 50 and why do you want to act like a 50-year-old when you are 30?"u00a0u00a0
Srikkanth's religious nature came to the fore when asked about his plans for his birthday.
"I am going out of Chennai for a temple visit. Since I have a slightly religious mind, I thought it would be apt to visit a temple and seek blessings of God," said Srikkanth, who was the highest individual scorer in a low-socring final of the 1983 World Cup final.
His evening plans are to spend time with his childhood friends. "I am meeting some very close friends of mine who have been my childhood mates u2014 they've been with me since kindergarten. We have studied together at school and engineering college. We'll just have a quiet dinner together," he said.
But that doesn't mean Srikkanth will not watch Virender Sehwag's men taking on Sri Lanka in India's third ODI in Cuttack.
And he expects a special birthday gift from the Men in Blue.
"I will be watching the match, I am sure the Indian team will give me a birthday gift by winning it quite handsomely," Srikkanth signed off.
