'I was never crazy for the centre spreads'

Mohammad Azharuddin hit three centuries in his first three Tests.

The Sportstar has always been one of the finest magazines. I used to read the magazine a lot as I grew up.

Those were the days when the one of the first goals of any sports person in India was to see their name in the magazine. Arey Sportstar mein naam anaa yaar (we should get our name in the magazine!) That was the most commonly heard objective.

It was the happening magazine. I still remember when I was thrilled to see my name in it for the first time after scoring two fifties in the 1981 Buchi Babu tournament in Madras.

It has been one of the most neutral publications, always presenting facts and figures. Even I was a columnist for the magazine and I enjoyed interacting with N. Ram and the then sports editor Krishnan.

I was never crazy for the centre spreads (posters). I never had them on the walls but many loved to do so in those days. But, I always felt it was a privilege to be written about in the magazine. It was a huge motivation for any budding talent and also for the established players.

I have very fond memories of the coverage in the magazine when I scored three consecutive centuries against England in 1985.

(As told to V.V.Subrahmanyam)