17 Interesting Facts about Javagal Srinath: India’s first genuine pacer

17 Interesting Facts about Javagal Srinath: India’s first genuine pacer: When we hear the name Javagal Srinath the first thing which comes to our mind is a guy who was from India but could still bowl fast. Such was the disconnect between genuine pace bowlers and the medium pacers coming from India those days. Srinath had an illustrious career, and was the spearhead of the Indian fast bowling for a large part of his career. At the peak of his career his bowling speed was around 150km/hr with his fastest delivery being bowled at 154.5km/hr. He was a wonderful ambassador to the game of cricket. On his 46^th birtday we take a look at some interesting facts about Srinath’s career and his life:

1. Multitalented

He was more than just a fast bowler for India. Srinath was a Bachelor of Engineering in Instrumentation Technology from Mysore.

2. A dream Ranji debut:

Srinath made his Ranji Trophy debut against Hyderabad in 1989. He took a hat-trick in his very first innings, getting rid of Ehteshamuddin Ali Khan, MV Ramanamurthy, and Rajesh Yadav, and finished with five for 85.

3. Indian cricketer of the year

Srinath made his international debut in 1991, and did well enough that he was named Indian cricketer of the Year the following season in 1992.

4. The married Life

He was married to Jyothsna in 1999 but mutually agreed to a divorce. He remarried in 2008 to Madhavi Patravali, a journalist.

5. Nickname

Javagal Srinath was popularly known as the Mysore Express.

6. Impressive international debut

Debuting at the Gabba during the 1991-92 tour down under, Srinath impressed one and all with his ability to generate extreme pace coupled with steep bounce from any surface.

7. Memorable outing

His finest moment was during the Ahmedabad Test in 1996 when he single-handedly demolished the South African batting line-up on a dust bowl. He ended up with impressive figures of 6/21.

8. Demolishing Pakistan

The Asian Test Championship match against Pakistan, in 1999, at the Eden Gardens was a historic occasion. Srinath led the attack from the front and ended up with a match haul of 13/132, the only ten-wicket haul of his career.

Also read: 16 Most elegant batsmen of all time

9. A rare record

Courtsey that game Srinath has the world’s best bowling figures (13 wickets for 132 runs) in a Test match, while ending up on the losing side.

10. Dada steps in

Srinath announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after the home series against West Indies in 2002 but was persuaded by the then captain, Sourav Ganguly, to play in ODIs at least until the World Cup in 2003.

11. A Wise decision

After Srinath agreed to Ganguly’s request, India played a bilateral series against the Kiwis ahead of the 2003 World Cup. The pacer took 18 wickets in that series which was a record for the highest number of wickets by an Indian bowler in a bilateral series at that time.

12. The Big occasion got the better of him

Srinath continued his good form in the 2003 World cup until the final against Australia where he lost his nerve and ended up conceding 87 runs from his 10 overs. Srinath announced his decision to finally retire after the tournament.

13. Great numbers

Srinath is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in One-Day International (ODI) cricket with 315 victims. He got them in 229 matches at an impressive 28.08. He is only the second Indian after Anil Kumble (334) to take 300 ODI wickets.

14. One for the big tournaments

He is the joint highest wicket taker for India across 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2003 editions of ODI World Cups, the other being Zaheer Khan who took same number of wickets in 2003, 2007 and 2011 editions.

15. Truly Deserving

Javagal Srinath was honoured by the Indian government with the Arjuna Award in 1999.

16. The life after playing Cricket

Post retirement, Srinath had a stint as a TV commentator and later went on to become a member of the ICC match referee panel in 2006.

17. The administrator role

In November, 2010, Javagal Srinath stood for the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections as part of Anil Kumble’s team and was elected as the secretary of the apex body by defeating former umpire, A V Jayaprakash.