Pichai drives it straight, says he wanted to be a cricketer

Google CEO Sundar Pichai, introduced as “tech star” to a packed audience in Delhi’s Shri Ram College of Commerce, said he once dreamt of becoming a cricketer.

“I did dream of being a cricketer like so many Indians and I was a huge fan of Gavaskar,” he told his host Harsha Bhogle.

Pichai is on his maiden visit to India after taking his new responsibility at Google. “But on a more serious note, I was always interested in technology. And then I read a story about semiconductors. That interested me,” he told students packed in a college gymnasium.

He outlined his company’s plans to boost Internet access in India and said there is unique opportunity to build technology-based companies in the country. “You do need entrepreneurs to build things for India and globally. All the elements which you need are already here,” chief of the search engine giant said. He also reiterated his message that Google is bullish on growth in India.

“Developers are hunting the bloodline of software. The more developers you have, more problems are solved,” Pichai said.  During the 45-minute long interactive session, Google’s Indian-born CEO’s fielded a volley of questions from the audience and netizens. Students from his alma mater IIT Kharagpur also sent in their queries through the web.

He said the Indian education system, which nurtured him, should allow students to take risks, and to fail.

In Silicon Valley, “failing is a badge of honour” because it shows entrepreneurs are trying “new and daring things”, he said. Pichai’s chat with Bhogle revealed some lesser-known facts about him.

He reckoned that he purchased his first smartphone in 1996, but said he probably has some 20 or 30 smartphones at home – as he is always “testing out mobile devices”. And when asked about his score in Class 12, he said, “Not enough to get into Shri Ram College of Commerce.”