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Javagal Srinath: One in a billion


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Srinath was India's fastest bowler. And probably India's best fast bowlers. But due to a genuine lack of fast bowlers, we tend to put Sri on a higher pedestal than he belongs. He was good. But I don't think he would be in a list of top 25 fast bowlers in the world in the last 25 years.

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Srinath's achievement is very difficult to fathom today. When he started bowling genuinely quick, the Indian cricket fraternity desperately lacked fast bowling culture. Most pacers were gentle medium pace ... not even fast-medium let alone fast. There was no understanding of fast bowling. The field placings were often wrong and ineffective. Encouragement was missing. Vivek Rajdan, the first good pacer to come out of the MRF Pace Foundation, was dropped after taking 5 wickets in his first test. Never played another test. Atul Wassan and Salil Ankola also got raw deals. All these pacers were tall and bowled at a lively pace. Ashish Winston Zaidi, who was thought to be as quick as Waqar and had a good FC record, did not get to play a single test. Srinath was a quick who primarily bowled indippers and got steep bounce at high pace. Yet, he rarely got a short leg where numerous catches popped up but there was no-one to take them. Slip fielders - used to catching 125 k pacers - often dropped his quick deliveries. Pioneers are not always properly judged by statistics. Because they face novel problems. Srinath was the pioneer of genuine fast bowling in the modern era of Indian cricket.

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Quality is found at averages under 30. http://www.espncricinfo.com/srilanka/content/player/50804.html Great seam bowlers at 25 or less.
Agree. It's not like Chaminda Vaas was bowling on wickets highly conducive to fast bowling. Not did he come through at a time where there was a high understanding of fast bowling in SL. He didn't have a ton of quality fielders at slips and close in early in his career. I definitely rate CV ahead of JS. And I'm Indian. That said neither of them should in a list of world class fast bowlers.
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"In 1998, Australia toured India and for the first time on Indian soil the speed guns were to be a fixture. The Indian press chose to give the speed battle between Glenn McGrath and Srinath top billing but most so-called 'experts' at the time found this to be bordering on the insane." McGrath didnt tour india in 1998.

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"In 1998, Australia toured India and for the first time on Indian soil the speed guns were to be a fixture. The Indian press chose to give the speed battle between Glenn McGrath and Srinath top billing but most so-called 'experts' at the time found this to be bordering on the insane." McGrath didnt tour india in 1998.
Do not let facts ruin their fun. :giggle: Serious question for my Indian friends, if Srinath was so quick in that time - why did the whole world regard him as being a fast medium bowler? I am in my mid 40s - I watched much cricket in the period he played, and frankly, he never looked truly fast like Donald or Younis or Bishop for example. :two_thumbs_up:
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Srinath barely bowled a ball above 135km's in the 1999 test series in Aus too.
Indeed if he was quick why would he not have the recognition? We all saw him bowl plenty- he never looked very fast. He seldom rushed batsmen. I do want an answer as to why this Thompson/Akhtar level speedster is regarded as only FM if he was so quick. Speeds of 150+ are visibly quick to the eye!
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Agree. It's not like Chaminda Vaas was bowling on wickets highly conducive to fast bowling. Not did he come through at a time where there was a high understanding of fast bowling in SL. He didn't have a ton of quality fielders at slips and close in early in his career. I definitely rate CV ahead of JS. And I'm Indian. That said neither of them should in a list of world class fast bowlers.
Exclude Zimbabwe and see what Vaas averages.
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