The Karnataka bowler, Javagal Srinath made his Test debut on the Australian tour in 1991, claimed 236 wickets in 67 Tests at an average of 30.49. He was India’s second most successful fast bowler after stepping into the shoes of the legendary Kapil Dev, who retired in 1994 with a then-world record tally of 434 Test wickets.
Srinath also played in 229 One-day Internationals in which he took an Indian record of 315 wickets, including 16 in the last World Cup. His best Test figures were 8-86 against Pakistan in the Asian Test Championship match at Calcutta in 1999. But it was not enough to prevent the arch-rivals from winning the match. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly paid rich tribute to Srinath, saying it had been a pleasure playing alongside him.
He served Indian cricket for a long time with distinction. We thank him for making Indian cricket proud,” Ganguly said. It’s been a pleasure playing with him for so many years. At the end of the day, it was his personal decision. His motivation to play for the country only when the fit is to be respected. The Mysore based engineer, who turned out for Gloucestershire and Leicestershire in separate stints in English county cricket, had been a reluctant starter for India over the last two years.
Srinath announced his retirement after the tour of the West Indies in April 2002 but was persuaded by Ganguly to play in the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September. He also missed the Test series in New Zealand in December but was a roaring success at the World Cup in South Africa by helping India win eight matches in a row to reach the final.
Beating Pakistan in all three World Cups I played in was the high point of my career,” Srinath said. Indian cricket board president Jagmohan Dalmiya said it was a sad day for the country’s cricket. It is not the end of the road for Srinath. It is just the beginning of his second innings as a coach, as a consultant and as a role model.
Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath announced his retirement from international cricket on November 11 following a prolonged knee injury. He said I have made an irrevocable decision. I am completely done with first-class cricket. Javagal Srinath announced his retirement from Tests in June 2002 but came back after being persuaded by Captain Sourav Ganguly to play in a home series against the West Indies in October 2003.
He then guided India to the one-day World Cup final in March 2003. At the time of retirement, Srinath was India’s highest one-day wicket-taker with 315 wickets and his 236 Test victims are the second-best for an Indian paceman after Kapil Dev’s record 434. He had not played for his country since the South Africa event because of the knee injury.
Srinath’s announcement comes two days before the Indian selectors were due to name the squad for a Test tour of Australia starting later last month. The tall bowler, who has led India’s new-ball attack in the last decade, had said he would quit all cricket if he was unable to regain fitness for the Australia tour. The day has come to move on in life,” the fast bowler told a packed media conference.
It is a hard decision to make after 12 years of top-class cricket. Playing cricket has been a privilege and not a possession I enjoyed each and every day of my cricket. When I look back I have only fond memories and no regrets. Srinath’s mind was made up after it became evident the knee injury would sideline him for the Test series in Australia.
The Indian team for the Australian tour was named two days later. Srinath last played for India in the World Cup final at Johannesburg in March 2003 but opted out of subsequent matches to recover from the injury sustained during the tournament. After the World Cup my prime thoughts were about playing Australia,” he said. But the knee refused to heal. I then realized it was time to say goodbye to the game.
This game has given me quite a lot. One is always motivated to play for India but you need a proper frame of body to have a proper frame of mind. Javagal Srinath missed this season’s home Test matches against New Zealand and the recent limited-overs series also featuring world champions Australia and New Zealand.
Wisden Overview Profile:
Arguably India’s fastest-ever bowler, Javagal Srinath, with over 200 Test wickets, is not an underachiever. Yet, he is a reluctant spearhead who could have pushed himself harder. On his day, Srinath could be as good as anyone anywhere. The in-cutter at a rapid pace was palpably hostile and kept the man at short leg consistently occupied. But Indian supporters would have liked him to sustain the pressure for longer periods.
On the dust-bowls of India, where he learned to use the old ball to great effect, he showed them some memorable days, such as the time he grabbed 6 for 21 to skittle the South Africans at Ahmadabad in 1996. Never as comfortable in the one-day arena, Srinath nevertheless worked on a slower leg-cutter that brought him success late in his career.
As a batsman, he is utterly chaotic – but useful when the mind is on the job. India has come to learn to live without Srinath recently such is his frequency of retirement-announcements and requests for a rest.
Factbox
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Full Name – Javagal Srinath
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Born: August 31, 1969, Mysore, Right-arm fast bowler.
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Teams: Kamataka, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Durham, India.
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Tests: 67, 236 wickets at an average of 30.49, best 8-86 v Pakistan in Calcutta, 1999, also 10 five-wicket hauls, one 10-wicket match. He scored 1,009 runs as a batsman (average 14.21), highest 76, 4 50s, 22 catches.
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One-day Internationals: 229. 315 wickets, average 28.08, best 5-23, 4w 10, R/O 4.44, 883 runs as batsman (ave 10.63), highest 53, one 50, 32 catches.
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First-class: (1989-90 to 2003) 533 wickets in 147matches, average 26.31, best 9-76, 5wl 23 times, 10WM 3 times, and score 2,276 runs as batsman (average 14.49), highest 76, 7 fifties, 62 catches.
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List A limited-over matches: (1989-90 to 2003) 290 match’s 407 wickets at an average of 26.25, best figure 5-23, 4w 13 times, R/O 4.27, score 1,153 runs as a batsman (average 10.48), highest 53, one 50, 49 catches.
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India’s pace spearhead since the retirement of all-rounder Kapil Dev in 1994. India’s most successful one-day bowler and second-best among fast bowlers in Tests behind Kapil’s record 434 victims.
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Aged 21, burst into the side as a tear away in-swing bowler but brought in more variety later in his career. He played his first 12 Tests abroad and was largely sidelined for home fixtures until.
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1994 – Along with Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar taking the two pace-bowling slots in a spin-oriented attack.
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1997- Suffered a nearly career-ending rotator cuff tear in his bowling shoulder and was sidelined for eight months, but made a strong comeback to bowl some of his best spells. Performed better on bouncier overseas pitches-128 wickets from 35 games versus 108 from 32 at home-but still produced two of his finest efforts on spin-friendly home tracks.
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1996- Captured 6-21 in a devastating spell on a slow, dusty pitch to lift India to victory over South Africa in the third Ahmadabad Test, clinching a 2-1 home series win.
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1999 -Took his only 10-wicket match haul (13-132), including his best effort in an innings, in an Asian Test Championship game against Pakistan in Calcutta won by the visitors.
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2002 Announced retirement from Test cricket after a series in West Indies in June but came back to play two more Tests against West Indies at home in October 2002.
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2003 Guided an impressive pace attack at the World Cup in South Africa where India lost to Australia in the final.
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2003 Joined Durham for his third county stint, having also played for Gloucestershire and Leicestershire, but was sidelined for India due to a troublesome right knee.
Sunil Gavaskar and Javed Miandad at the toss at Sharjah first friendly in 1981.