The Uncelebrated Star from Mysore. Review on Javagal Srinath

I am Proud. I indeed am. I am proud to be a Mysorean not just because Mysore is a heavenly place and I have stayed here all my life. I have cricketing reasons for it. I am proud that Mysore is the place that has produced India's quickest bowler so far. Yes, I am talking about the one and only, Javagal Srinath, who indeed hails from Mysore. If my memory goes right, long time back when Srinath used to stay in Mysore (Nowadays he is up in Bangalore), he used to visit the temple which my father was managing.

I faintly remember having seen him in close quarters and boy, now its such a joy that this lad has got so much recognition the world over. And he deserves that too. So here I am to throw some of my views on this cricketer who has waged a lone battle of pace and perseverance in this Indian team.

Coming from a middle class background, Srinath honed his bowling skills in the Mysore Gymkhana. In one of the practise matches he was spotted by the then selector G.R. Vishwanath and within a span of one year, Srinath was already playing the Irani Trophy. He was the quickest around. He was grafted into the national side very soon and he toured to Sharjah. His biggest break came in the form of World Cup 92 along with the tour of Australia. Having emerged as the best bowler in that tour, he went to South Africa and impressed everyone with his pace and penetration. But Srinath had one big problem. The presence of Prabhakar and Kapil Dev meant that Srinath couldn't spearhead the attack and so, he stayed as a first change bowler for 4 years until Kapil retired. This proved to be crucial as Srinath shot into limelight and with Prabhakar out of the scene, Srinath came into the limelight. He was regarded as the ''Mysore Express'' and rightly so.

As Srinath spearheaded the Indian pace attack, India could atleast save some face in their tours abroad. But Srinath bowled extraordinarily well on placid Indian wickets too and produced some wonderful spells of hostile pace bowling. Although he went through some difficult time during the shoulder injury he incurred, his spirits didn't drop as he came back with a bang and till now, has kept himself fit and active. He sure is aiming the World Cup and that was why he took a break from Test Cricket. At 33, Srinath still is the quickest we have produced and we should be proud of him.

His Bowling: Srinath relies on pace. His basic action is a high arm action and his technique of bowling makes him bowl those natural in-swingers. Hence he is effective when bowling to right handers as well as left handers. Although he has lost a lot of pace these days, in his hey days, Srinath bowled furiously fast and I really would put my guess on his pace as around the 145-150 kmph mark in those days. What is amazing in him is that once he is in, he'll fire on all cylinders. He has to get the right rythm and if he does, he would be hard person to stop.

Actually lots of people doubted on his ability to provide variation in his bowling but off late, he has honed his skills well and has learnt to bowl the slower delivery effectively. This has made him a better one-day bowler and as he himself admits, thanks to Prasad for teaching him how to bowl the slower one.

Performances: I really can't count some of his one-day performances but can avidly remember the way he bowled against the Pakistanis in India's 92 World Cup clash against them in Brisbane. It was a tight match and both teams fought hard. But Srinath stood out with some astute bowling and the way he castled Javed Miandad showed what this man was capable of. Now with more than 250 wickets in the one-dayers, Srinath is certainly raring to fire on all cylinders.

Come to test matches and I can remember numerous occasions in which he has made the opposition fall like pins. Especially the match in Ahmadabad against SA in 96 when they were chasing a small total of 164 and Srinath came in to blast the opposition out for a cheap total of 102 with figures of 6/21. Then came the test match in Calcutta in the Asia Test Championship when he came out with career best figures of 8/84. Any captain can pose faith in him for he can be as deadly as ever at any given time.

Batting and Fielding: Although Srinath gets furious when people don't field well off his bowling, he himself is a moderate fielder. Considering the current situation, he can only be used as a bowler and then can relax in the outfield for he has a very weak throw and more so, he will easily be drained out. So I wouldn't really give him full points on fielding but then, there are enough indications that he is trying to keep himself fit and working. That urge is always there and that is very good.

Come batting and I would say that Srinath is a big time slogger. Although, he has showed in the past that he can add some valuable runs and keep one end tight, I really think he would fit into the roll of a pinch hitter very nicely. With long arms, he can weave the bat at will and hit the ball long and hard and get some vital runs. Afterall, what more can you expect from a tail ender. I think he would be a useful tailender too provided he plays well.

My thoughts: For almost 10 years now, Srinath has fought a hard battle. He had to fight hard to come to the top place and all the while he had to convince the selectors that he was indeed the best around by performing. Another problem he has faced over the years is the captains over bowling him. I remember a statement made my Sunny Gavaskar and according to him, when he was talking to an English bowler, it seems that he said that if he had half the pace and talent of Srinath, he would have been the world's No.1 bowler. This indicates how much Srinath has been misused. Over the years captains without any other option have over bowled him on placid Indian wickets and this really took the lustre off Srinath. Although he has picked up wickets, he has worn out quickly. This might have been the reason for his shoulder injury too. But then, until recently, the Captain could only look up to Srinath to provide the break through. Secondly, the bad handling by the Selectors. I wonder when on earth will India get good and understanding selectors. If these negatives weren't there Srinath would have been an Indian Mcgrath. Once again its about fate.

Concluding this little passionate write up on Srinath, I would like to add that Srinath has been India's best fast bowler ever and he shall always be the uncelebrated hero. I hope atleast this time around, which in all probability will be Srinath's last frontier, the World Cup, he is given his due and I am sure he will deliver the goods when India needs it the most. He certainly is a big gun for India and in the favourable conditions of SA, he would be a hard person to handle and I wish that Javagal Srinath turns out to be a match winner which he always has been.