August 31 is the birthday of one of India’s popular fast bowlers, Javagal Srinath. Born on August 31, 1969, Srinath went on to become the leader of India’s pace attack in the years after Kapil Dev. He was known as the Mysore Express as he brought genuine pace to an Indian team that had traditionally relied heavily on spin. He was around 6 feet 3 inches tall and could extract bounce and movement and was capable of troubling batsmen even when the conditions offered little help. His partnership with fellow Karnataka pacer Venkatesh Prasad became an important part of India’s bowling attack during the 1990s.
Srinath made his international debut in 1991, playing his first ODI against Pakistan and his first Test against Australia. Over a career that lasted 12 years, he played 67 Tests and 229 ODIs. He finished with 236 Test wickets and 315 ODI wickets, making him the only Indian fast bowler to cross 300 wickets in ODIs. His 315 ODI wickets also remain the highest by an Indian fast bowler in the format. Across the two formats, Srinath took 551 wickets in 296 matches.
There were plenty of memorable spells in his farewell. In Ahmedabad in 1996, Srinath took 6 for 21 against South Africa on a turning pitch. Three years later, he produced another outstanding performance against Pakistan in Kolkata, taking 13 wickets in the match, including 8 for 86 in an innings. Srinath played in four World Cups including 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2003 and was part of the Indian side that reached the 2003 final in South Africa. He retired from international cricket after that tournament. He was also honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1999. After retirement, he took up a role as an ICC match referee and also briefly served as secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association.
