I watch all the matches except that I didn’t! Sometimes, some other things in life do become important to me than Cricket - like Examinations, Job Interviews, etc!
Javagal Srinath joined the Indian International team during the 1991/92 season and I’ve always been watching his bowling with awe. His inswingers to the right-handed batsmen are really deadly deliveries. Of late, he has also perfected the art of bowling an outswinger. He maintains a constant pace of 135-140kmph which is very much commendable.
But, why did he never reached the top spot? What is missing in him? I’d say he had lots of disadvantages vis-a-vis his advantages and the disadvantages considerably outweighed his advantages. Let’s see one by one.
1. Consistency:
Compare his test career with Allan Donald who started appearing in International Cricket at about the same time Srinath appeared. It is easy to guess who was dreaded the most. I don’t disagree to the fact that Srinath has done great damages to an opposing team sometimes. But, he did only once in a bluemoon and all other times we end up saying, ’’He’s a good bowler. But, has no luck!’’. Luck is for the batsmen and not for the bowlers. If you make mistake in one delivery, you have the opportunity to correct yourselves in the next ball. That is not the case with batsmen. If a batsman gets out, and that is the end of the game and he has to wait for the next match without thinking about the previous outcome. Do we remember world cup finals? Ball-after-ball, Srinath tossed the ball or pitched it as half-volley. A completely unsettled Ricky Ponting went on to hit 5 sixes and a resounding 140.
2. Nervousness:
Srinath is always nervous and more so when he’s batting. I guess most of the cricketing fans remember the memorable win Srinath and Kumble brought us against the Aussies at Bangalore. It was one match I cherished for my lifetime. Srinath did score some useful runs but it was apparent that he was tensed, nervous and Kumble had to keep him cool every now-and-then. Srinath is a good batsman. But, he gets very nervous and starts swinging his bat all the way from his head to toe the moment bowler releases his ball. And because of this, he gets out for normal full-pitch deliveries. How many times do we see a big disappointment in his face when his ball his hit to the fence? I guess, instead of thinking about the next delivery, Srinath thinks a lot about the previous delivery being hit to the fence.
3. Application:
Srinath is technically sound but, in my humble opinion, takes a lot of time to adjust to the conditions. Of late, he’s able to bowl bouncers but sometimes they’re too short-pitched which the batsmen use to their advantage and hook. Srinath’s inswingers mostly tend to go to the middle and middle-and-leg. Accepted they’re tough to bat. But, they really are not a threat to a batsman. The ones that go just away from the off-stump make the batsmen really think twice/thrice before attempting a shot. Srinath bowls such deliveries rarely and by the time he does it, the batsmen is settled and is confident enough to hit the same to fence.
These are big shortcomings for any bowler at any level. That said, I still agree that Srinath is one of the greatest fast bowlers Indian Cricket has ever produced. But, compared to world-class players of his time like Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Glen McGrath, Jason Gillespie, and countless others Srinath falls really short of expectations of a billion fans.
BCCI has decided to make Srinath as bowling coach. This is a welcome decision. Srinath could teach the new comers the knack of swingers. But, I wished the rumour about Wasim Akram was really not a rumour. We can learn a lot from this person both in terms of bowling , ’’the passion for bowling, and the killer instinct’’ (this is what is missing in Indian Cricketers). May be, it might also help strengthen the ties between us and Pakistan.