Javagal Srinath Biography 
Javagal Srinath was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team and the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. Like Sachin, he is regarded as the perfect gentleman of this ‘Gentlemen game of cricket’. He is the leading wicket taker from India in Cricket World Cups, with 44 wickets from 4 World cups – 1992 to 2003 where he played 34 matches. 35 wickets against South Africa in 6 test matches in 1996 – 1997 and 8 wickets in second innings in 1999–2000 test match with Pakistan are recorded among his outstanding performances. He has also taken more than 500 first class wickets.
From 64 test matches he played for India, he took 236 wickets of which he got 10 wickets in one match once and reached the magical figure of 5 wickets in an innings, 10 times. He has an outstanding ODI record also. He has 319 victims from 229 matches and he claimed 5 wickets in three matches. Among fast bowlers from India, it’s the highest figure. He has also scored 1009 runs from test matches and 883 runs from ODIs. Occasionally he has batted for his team and many have been match winning performances too. Best instance is a match at Titan Cup, 1996 against Australia, where he along with Kumble presented India with a thrilling win.
Srinath was noticed first by former Indian Test batsman Gundappa Viswanath while selecting team for state. In 1989/90, Srinath made his first-class debut for Karnataka against Hyderabad. He took a hat-trick in his debut game. Srinath finished the season with 25 wickets from six matches and he retained his form in following seasons too. Srinath made his One Day International debut in the Wills Trophy at Sharjah in 1991. He debut test cricket against Australia in 1991-92 Australia tour where he got 3 wickets in the first innings. He served Indian team as the back bone of fast bowling for more than a decade and retired in 2002. During 1996 cricket tour to South Africa, one of his balls recorded a speed of 156 km/h (97 mph).
Published: N/A
Updated: January 23, 2014
