Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath Biography

Javagal Srinath is the former Indian cricketer known for his fast bowling. Born on 31 August 1969 in Mysore district, Karnataka, Srinath holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Instrumentation Technology from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), Mysore.

During his prime, Javagal Srinath was the spearhead of the Indian pace attack alongside Karnataka teammate, Venkatesh Prasad. Currently, he is serving ICC as a Match Referee.

Background

Srinath made his first-class debut in 1989 for Karnataka when a state selector saw him playing a club match. Srinath took a hattrick in his first match against Hyderabad in first innings.

He finished the season with 25 wickets from six matches and took another 20 the following season. Srinath has over 500 first-class wickets to his name.

International Debut

Srinath was selected in the Indian cricket team for the late 1991 tour of Australia. Making his Test debut against Australia at Brisbane, he took 3/59 while playing as the third pace bowler.

He finished the tour with 10 wickets at an average of 55.30. He was given an opportunity to take the new ball against South Africa in Cape Town, where he took an economical 4/33 in 27 overs. Srinath ended the tour with 12 wickets at 26.08.

However, due to wickets in India being helpful to spin, he spent seven consecutive home Tests watching from the bench as India only fielded two pacemen.

Rise To Glory

With the retirement of Kapil Dev in 1994, Srinath played his first home Test against the West Indies. He took five wickets and scored 60 in the second innings to be named Man of the Match as India won by 96 runs.

Srinath was India’s fastest bowler ever as his deliveries measured at 149.6 km/h and 157 km/hr on 27 January 1997 in the game at Paarl between India and Zimbabwe.

Club Career

Srinath Joined joined Gloucestershire and took 87 wickets in his one and only season with them including taking 9/76 against Glamorgan. He has also played English county cricket with Leicestershire and Durham.

Achievements

Srinath is the first Indian bowler to take 300 ODI wickets. He is currently the second highest wicket taker for India in the ODIs with 315 wickets to his name.

He took 44 wickets in the all the editions of the Cricket World Cups he played and is the joint highest wicket-taker for India across World Cups along with Zaheer Khan.

Retirement

Srinath played his last test match against West Indies in 2002 at Eden Garden Kolkata. Srinath could not manage to take any wicket and match ended up in a draw.

His last ODI was the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup finals against Australia. The match did not go well for both Srinath and India as Srinath gave 87 runs in 10 overs, without any wicket and India lost the finals by 125 runs.