Javagal Srinath is one of the fastest pacers in the history of Indian cricket. His raw pace often made it tough for the batters to face him.
The player started his international career in 1991 and led the Indian fast bowling attack after the retirement of Kapil Dev around two and a half years later. Another former India player, Venkatapathy Raju, who played with Srinath for the national team, shared the moment when the pacer was introduced in the squad. Raju revealed that the bowler’s speed ended up troubling then top-order India batter Dilip Vengsarkar during practice. He added Vengsarkar responded to it in a fiery manner, but Srinath didn’t bog down.
“In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Manoj Prabhakar was a swing bowler, while Chetan Sharma was a nippy bowler. Salil Ankola was quick, but he lacked consistency and had injury issues. Even Abey Kuruvilla. So, when Srinath came into the picture, the Indian team was about to travel to England, and the players were practising on the central wicket in Bengaluru. There, they introduced a young, lanky Srinath. Everyone was surprised at the speed at which he was bowling. He came and bowled a short-pitched ball to Vengsarkar. Dilip bhai dropped his bat and abused Srinath. ‘Match mein aa ke dikha’ he said (Come and bowl to me in a match),” Raju told journalist Vimal Kumar on the Long Innings Podcast by Hook Online.
Srinath got an opportunity to bowl to Vengsarkar in a match later. It was a Deodhar Trophy match. The pacer was playing for Board President XI and Vengsarkar was in the opposition team. Srinath’s captain, Ravi Shastri, reminded the fast bowler of the challenge that Vengsarkar gave him before. It fuelled Srinath, and he ended up surprising the batter once again.
“When Vengsarkar came to bat, Shastri asked Srinath, ‘Do you remember what Dilip said to you? First ball should be a bouncer’. Srinath did, and Dilip bhai had once again to drop his bat. He said ‘bohut tez daalta hai’ (He bowls fast). That’s how Srinath’s reputation was built. Sometimes you feel he also deserved the same recognition. He went on to become a match referee, but he, too, needs to be appreciated. He gave it his all for his country,” added Raju.