Javagal Srinath

At 55 years old, Javagal Srinath has this physical status:

Domestic career

During a club match, Srinath caught former Indian Test batsman Gundappa Viswanath, a selector for the state team. He made his first-class debut for Karnataka against Hyderabad in 1989-1990, scoring a hat-trick in the first innings. In the second innings, Srinath continued this with wickets from successive balls. He had 25 wickets in six matches during the season and then took another 20 in the following season. His second season included a show of bounce against Maharashtra at Nehru Stadium in Pune, taking 7/93 to dismiss the home team for 311 in response to a Karnataka total of 638 on a good batting average.

Srinath took over 500 first-class wickets for Karnataka, taking 96 at 24.06. He joined Gloucestershire in 1995 and took 87 wickets that season, including 9-76 against Glamorgan. Srinath has also played English county cricket with Leicestershire and Durham.

International career

Srinath traveled to South Africa after South Africa's visit to India in late 1996 (where speed guns were still in use). This was the first time in his career that speed-gun readings were available before his career-threatening 1997 rotator-cuff injury. In 1991, Srinath made his One Day International debut in the Wills Trophy at Sharjah. He is India's most prolific wicket-taker at the World Cup, with 44 wickets from 34 matches. Srinath is India's top wicket taker in ODI cricket as a fast bowler and the only Indian fast bowler to reach 300 wickets in ODI matches. Anil Kumble, the only other Indian bowler to do so, is spinner Anil Kumble. In his debut year, Srinath played 11 ODI matches and two test matches, averaging of 30.00.

He was chosen for the Indian cricket team's 1991–92 tour of Australia. Srinath's third fastest bowler on his test debut against Australia at Brisbane took 3/59 to end the tour with ten wickets at 55.30. With a chance to play the new ball against South Africa in Cape Town, he took an economical 4/33 in 27 overs and ended the tour with 12 wickets at 26.08. The wickets in India were conducive to spin, but Srinath spent seven straight home tests monitoring from the sidelines as India fielded only two fast bowlers.

Srinath played his first home test against the West Indies in late 1994, three years after Kapil Dev's retirement and three years after his international debut. As India defeated by 96 runs, he took five wickets and 60 in the second innings to be named Man of the Match. Srinath's increased opportunities coincided with an increase in his batting, and he scored two half-centuries in the series.

One of Srinath's deliveries was clocked at 149.6 kilometres per hour (93.0 mph) in the 1997–98 series against Australia. Srinath's captain Alistair Campbell was clocked at 157 kilometres per hour (98 mph) on 27 January 1997 in a game between India and Zimbabwe: "We then progressed to our second game against India, at Boland Bank Park," says Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell. In all, 236 was a good result, as it wasn't the fastest of pitches to bat on, and Srinath bowled the fastest than any of our guys had ever seen. He bowled a quick spell early on, even faster than Allan Donald; he was timed at 157 km/h, a good 10 kilometers/h faster than Donald was bowling during the tournament. Grant Flower was struck on the thigh pad, and when he came off, he said he had broken his leg." At their peak, Campbell battled Lance Klusener and Alan Donald, who later found Srinath to be quicker. He and Grant Flower had previously faced Waqar Younis at his best, as well as Wasim Akram and the Pakistani fast bowlers before that. They won their first test match (defeating Pakistan by an innings and 64 runs and scoring 544/4 in their only innings), but they never met anyone as fast as Srinath.

His best ever ball was 157 kilometres per hour (98 mph). Srinath was India's only regular fast bowler for many years, and his work is thought to have contributed to his injuries; he underwent surgery in 1997 on his right shoulder.

He had more success against South Africa than any other Indian player, taking more than 60 test wickets at an average of 24.48. During the South African tour of India, Srinath took 17 wickets in three test matches, and during his Indian tour of South Africa, he took 18 wickets in three test matches. During the period from 1989 to 1997, he took 35 wickets in six test matches, with an average of 24.94.

Srinath's rotator-cuff injury, which was diagnosed in March 1997, kept him away from cricket until November of this year, which also affected his speed. Overuse caused the injury. He had 92 test wickets in 27 tests, 46 in his first 18 and 46 in his last nine matches at the time. It was doubted if Srinath would ever be able to bowl again, let alone play at his previous level. Srinath said he thought his career was over when he announced his resignation in November 2003. Dennis Lillee, an Australian fast bowler, has been dubbed "a true fast bowler." Despite several commentators' statements that Srinath's average and strike rate dropped as a result of bowling to India's predominantly dry, spin-friendly wickets, his average at home was higher than average elsewhere, since he knew how to reverse-swing the ball.

In Bangalore, Srinath's third test against Australia was postponed, the match being played in Bangkok, where he was man of the match. He appeared in four of India's five test matches this year.

In 1992, Srinath received his first man-of-the-match awards in ODI and test cricket against South Africa in a test match against Sri Lanka in an ODI match in Kanpur. For an average of 19.00, he played 18 ODI matches and took 34 wickets. In an ODI match twice in 1993, Srinath took five wickets, and India won several matches with his help. He played three test matches and took nine wickets for an average of 18.00.

In 1994, he played four test matches and 23 ODI matches, taking 13 test wickets and 33 ODI wickets for an average of 25.00. In Bombay, Srinath earned his second test-cricket man-of-the-match award against the West Indies, scoring 60 runs off 72 balls, taking four wickets in the second innings.

Despite Srinath's retirement in 1995, the Indian team's main bowler, but he played just three test matches and 12 ODIs due to injuries. New Zealand were all out for 145 in the first innings after his spell of 3/24; India won the test match by eight wickets; the remaining two matches were postponed due to rain. In Mumbai against New Zealand, Srinath took 17 wickets in ODIs and received his second ODI man-of-the-match awards.

Srinath was selected for the second time as a top fast bowler, alongside him and Venkatesh Prasad, and he and Venkatesh Prasad opened matches. In 1996, he was a hit, taking 33 tests and 33 ODI wickets. Srinath received his third test man-of-the-match award with 6/21 against South Africa. He was used as a pinch-hitter in the Titan Cup by captain Sachin Tendulkar, who scored a fifty, helping India win the tournament.

Srinath took 35 wickets against South Africa in six test matches between 1996 and 1997. In January 1997, he took five wickets against South Africa in Johannesburg, and took 22 test and 15 ODI wickets this year. Srinath's average speed was between 96 and 97 kilometers per hour, with one particular delivery speed reaching 156 km/h. Srinath, on the other hand, was forced to withdraw from cricket for nine months (from February to November 1997) due to a rotator-cuff injury. In March and April 1997, he missed five test matches in the West Indies, two tests in Sri Lanka in August and one-day marches in the West Indies, the Independence Cup in Sri Lanka, a one-day match against Sri Lanka, and the three-match one-day series in Pakistan in September and October. Srinath took 17 wickets in test matches and 37 wickets (his best year ever) in 19 ODI matches for an average of 22.01 in 1998, the highest year of his career.

Srinath was given fewer overs than Anil Kumble in test matches due to the change of captains on the Indian team in 2000. He was mostly used in ODI matches and practice matches around the world, taking 21 test and 15 ODI wickets. In a test match against Zimbabwe in Delhi, Srinath took nine wickets and received his final test man-of-the-match award of the year.

Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar, two young bowlers, played eight test matches and 15 ODI matches, totaling 33 test wickets for an average of 27.00). Srinath's test career came to an end in 2002, when he competed against the West Indies and Zimbabwe and took 20 test wickets. He took 20 ODI wickets at a spell of 4/23 against New Zealand, taking seven wickets for 87 runs.

Despite the fact that Srinath wanted to leave ODI at the behest of Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, he decided not to play until the World Cup. He was on tour of New Zealand in January (a few weeks before the World Cup) where he took 18 wickets in seven matches.

Srinath is the only Indian fast bowler (apart from Kapil Dev, who was an allrounder) to play in four World Cups. He was chosen for the 1992 World Cup, but the Indian team failed badly and took eight wickets. In 1992, Srinath began playing for the national team as a third bowler in both directions of the sport. He appeared in six test matches and 19 ODIs and was selected for the 1992 Zimbabwe tour in 1992. Srinath defeated Zimbabwe (335 runs out of 209) and India took the match by 30 runs.

He had 11 maiden overs, an economy rate of 4.26, and took 11 wickets in his third World Cup appearance. In a test match against Pakistan, Srinath took 13 wickets for 132 runs (bowling 8/86 and 5/46), and took 44 test wickets and 34 ODI wickets in 1998. In Kolkata, he was given two test man-of-match awards, both against Australia in March 1998 and Pakistan in February 1999.

In 2003, Srinath played his last ODI in the World Cup and was the leading Indian wicket-taker. In a win for Australia, he took no wickets and conceded 87 runs. In the World Cup, Srinath took 16 wickets on an average of 23.06 and an economy rate of 4.04.

Despite his batting average being low, his batting for India won matches. India beat Australia in an ODI match against Australia in Bangalore in October 1996, with Srinath and Anil Kumble assisting India in winning an ODI match, securing India a spot in the final. Sachin Tendulkar dropped out at 88 runs on their ninth wicket partnership, aiming for a target of 216 runs. Srinath's innings included two fours and a six, with 30 runs off 23 wickets. He scored a 50 against South Africa in Rajkot, and India retained the trophy after India defeated the country.

When Mohammad Azharuddin was the Indian captain, Srinath had a test batting average of 20.00, winning by three-centuries and 76 runs against New Zealand. His test batting average stayed around 35.00 between 1994 and 1995. Azharuddin made Srinath a top-order batsman, and he batted third or fourth with Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, and Rahul Dravid.

Srinath was the second Indian bowler (after Kapil Dev) to take 200 wickets in test cricket, taking 236 wickets. In second innings (Kolkata 1999-2000 test match, India vs. Pakistan), he has taken eight wickets, and his spell of 6/21 against South Africa in 1996 ensured India's victory. In six test matches between 1996-1997, Srinath took 35 wickets against South Africa. Sadagoppan Ramesh, the Indian opener, was warned by Srinath not to attempt and take a wicket because Anil Kumble should take all ten wickets.

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