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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 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.
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.
“Nobody looks after sportspeople like Srinivasan has selflessly," he added
(With inputs from PTI)
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