As good as Zak and Ishant are..

[Don Sharma]

That was good. I also loved it when Srinath was bowling wides so that AK could get all 10 wickets.

Didnt he scream to Ramesh, not to go for that catch ( I dont remember the batsman thou...) Team man :two_thumbs_up:

[bunny]

Gambit, I'd also point out that Srinath rarely ever had the support in fielding or bowling that Zak and Ishant have now. Both of them have been able to rely on some outstanding bowlers at the other end - Zaheer having Srinath early on, later Pathan and Ishant - to support them, which Srinath didn't often have. Barring his partnership with Prasad, too often he'd send down a great over that was followed by mediocrity at the other end, especially when he was partnered by guys like Aag or Dodda. And Srinath may have been a lot more successful with this side in the field. Remember the '96 tour to England, where he moved the ball all over the place but kept seeing catches dropped in the slips or behind the sticks?

I dont buy the no support argument. I think one can find not only good but great bowlers who had no good support bowlers. Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Chaminda Vaas to name a few. Also not sure if the slip fielding was bad in the 90s. There would have been the odd match or two but Srinath played a lot many matches alongside Azhar, RD, SRT, Laxman who were all decent slip fielders.

[graphic23]

Chaminda Vaas has bowled in tandem with Murali a lot so that example doesn't hold. Hadlee cannot be compared to Srinath - he was in a different league altogether. Again, Imran had other bowlers who could at least contain if not take wickets. Srinath, at best, had Prasad. Plus, his first 4 years, he had to learn as much as possible by himself (without any support from Kapil Dev or the likes) and in light of that, he is an excellent bowler.

[bunny]

Chaminda Vaas has bowled in tandem with Murali a lot so that example doesn't hold. Hadlee cannot be compared to Srinath - he was in a different league altogether. Again' date=' Imran had other bowlers who could at least contain if not take wickets. Srinath, at best, had Prasad. Plus, his first 4 years, he had to learn as much as possible by himself (without any support from Kapil Dev or the likes) and in light of that, he is an excellent bowler.[/quote'] Well, that way Srinath bowled with Kumble. But Hadlee didnt suffer because of lack of support. What support did Imran have? Sarfaraz...thats it...he was an ordinary bowler. Theres no difference in Srinaths career whether he had Prasad, Prabhakar, Kapil Dev or none...maybe Kapil didnt teach him much and thats something which is sad but Srinath had way too many flaws and putting the blame on the support cast doesnt make that much sense..That said I agree with the OP that he was better than ZK and Ishant...(of course ZK and IS have a long career ahead of them) http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/34105.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=default;player_involve=1568;player_involve=1771;player_involve=2137;player_involve_type=none;template=results;type=bowling

[Don Sharma]

I dont buy the no support argument. I think one can find not only good but great bowlers who had no good support bowlers. Richard Hadlee' date= Imran Khan, Chaminda Vaas to name a few. Also not sure if the slip fielding was bad in the 90s. There would have been the odd match or two but Srinath played a lot many matches alongside Azhar, RD, SRT, Laxman who were all decent slip fielders.

What about the pitches these past greats played on and those that Srinath got to play? No dont pull the trigger yet about Vaas I got an answer for that too, :winky: Vaas played most of his matches on the slow tracks of SL, even though Srinath bowled well on Indian wickets he cud have done even better with some assistance from the pitch and support bowlers.

[bunny]

What about the pitches these past greats played on and those that Srinath got to play? No dont pull the trigger yet about Vaas I got an answer for that too' date=' :winky: Vaas played most of his matches on the slow tracks of SL, even though Srinath bowled well on Indian wickets he cud have done even better with some assistance from the pitch and support bowlers.[/quote'] Srinath has a worse away record. He didnt bowl too well in Australia or England...I am not sure if the pitch conditions would have helped him... Btw Hadlee has got a stellar record in every country...barring Pakistan where he played only 3 matches in 1976...even there his SR was good. Imran too had a very good record at home and away... Srinath on the other hand has a mediocre away record...In fact he did worse on away tours when Prasad bowled well.

[Nash]

Give ishant some time ..

[Don Sharma]

Srinath has a worse away record. He didnt bowl too well in Australia or England...I am not sure if the pitch conditions would have helped him... Btw Hadlee has got a stellar record in every country...barring Pakistan where he played only 3 matches in 1976...even there his SR was good. Imran too had a very good record at home and away... Srinath on the other hand has a mediocre away record...In fact he did worse on away tours when Prasad bowled well.

Stats dont lie do they...??? Mat Inns Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5 10 Srinath 35 64 128 6/76 8/104 33.76 2.85 70.8 5 0 Prasad 22 36 69 5/60 10/153 36.46 2.99 73.1 5 1 I guess you went by Prasad's awesome spell in Durban and said he was far better than Sri while missing the big picture.

[bunny]

Stats dont lie do they...??? Mat Inns Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5 10 Srinath 35 64 128 6/76 8/104 33.76 2.85 70.8 5 0 Prasad 22 36 69 5/60 10/153 36.46 2.99 73.1 5 1 I guess you went by Prasad's awesome spell in Durban and said he was far better than Sri while missing the big picture.

No I didnt mean Prasad was better than Sri...what I said was that when Prasad was bowling well Srinath didnt do as well...by the support theory, Srinath should have been better than his usual self when Prasad was bowling well...but that wasnt the case...

[Rajan]

if any one can remember the first tour we made to SA, you would agree that Srinath was breathing fire and was the fastest bowler in the series, according to the keeper(Kiran More?). The south africans were surprised that he was not selected for the first 2 tests. I agree that Brett Shultz was generating acute bounce and raw pace with his left handed action,and Allan Donald was in his first full series as a test bowler of top pace, but Srinath surprised every one with his pace and carry.it is a pity that he was not selected in favour of the other 2 batting allrounders(yes, Kapil and Prabhakar were doing just that in 1990's) .He was not guided by the seniors like the way Imran mentored Wasim and Waqar. I am an admirer of kapil but Kapil did all kind of wrong things to ensure no one develops in to a better bowler. When india toured Pak under srikkanth, R.Mohan has written that Kapil once went to Pakistan nets and insinuated that Manoj Prabhakar chucks the bouncer. similarly i have heard first hand info from TA Shekar, who was definitely couple of yards faster than Kapil and played in the same team in a test against Pak and an one day series in india against England in 1984 just before the B&H cup, that Kapil was livid with him, when Javed Burki, ex.pak captain appreciated his pace and offered to recommend him to a few counties in England. Kapil also spoilt Raju Kulkarni's career, never gave him enough opportunities. Binny was another one who suffered due to Kapil not allowing Binny to bowl in tests when he was captain. at least after Kapil, there is lot of positive developments in unearthing/grooming seamers in India, MRF helped a lot with their academy.Professionalism played a part in BCCI setting up academies.but spin bowling has taken a back seat.

[bunny]

if any one can remember the first tour we made to SA, you would agree that Srinath was breathing fire and was the fastest bowler in the series, according to the keeper(Kiran More?). The south africans were surprised that he was not selected for the first 2 tests. I agree that Brett Shultz was generating acute bounce and raw pace with his left handed action,and Allan Donald was in his first full series as a test bowler of top pace, but Srinath surprised every one with his pace and carry.it is a pity that he was not selected in favour of the other 2 batting allrounders(yes, Kapil and Prabhakar were doing just that in 1990's) .He was not guided by the seniors like the way Imran mentored Wasim and Waqar. I am an admirer of kapil but Kapil did all kind of wrong things to ensure no one develops in to a better bowler. When india toured Pak under srikkanth, R.Mohan has written that Kapil once went to Pakistan nets and insinuated that Manoj Prabhakar chucks the bouncer. similarly i have heard first hand info from TA Shekar, who was definitely couple of yards faster than Kapil and played in the same team in a test against Pak and an one day series in india against England in 1984 just before the B&H cup, that Kapil was livid with him, when Javed Burki, ex.pak captain appreciated his pace and offered to recommend him to a few counties in England. Kapil also spoilt Raju Kulkarni's career, never gave him enough opportunities. Binny was another one who suffered due to Kapil not allowing Binny to bowl in tests when he was captain. at least after Kapil, there is lot of positive developments in unearthing/grooming seamers in India, MRF helped a lot with their academy.Professionalism played a part in BCCI setting up academies.but spin bowling has taken a back seat.

Thats shocking to hear...

[bharat297]

Give Ishant time ... Ishant at 20 is better than Srinath was at 20 so hopefully he will go on to become the best Indian fast bowler ever.

[Sachinism]

but bro if he had eaten some red meat (and naan rolls and eye drops with a bit of opium here and there) he'd have clocked 150 kmh even more often and bowled like a real beast for three overs per match bro it's all about that pace

He was clocked at about 150 in the 2003 world cup

[Lurker]

Srinath struggled in his early years with a lack of guidance. Later on it came out how little Kapil Dev helped him; how Kapil literally treated him as a rival rather than his successor and wouldn't give him any advice on the 91-92 tour in Australia. I recollect a comment from Sri saying that if he had learnt to bowl a fuller length in his youth, he may have taken a lot more wickets. Worth noting that after that he played a huge role in passing the baton, something that never happened to him. In his last few years he did an amazing job as the father of the pace attack, working with the young guys Nehra and Zaheer constantly, passing on tips and really helping them shine. Nehra eventually fell away but Zaheer's taken on the mantle brilliantly.

Not sure how much truth there is to the whole assertion of Srinath being thought of as a "rival" by Kapil. At most it is a hearsay, and yes I have heard it before. I would be very interested if either of these two gents - Kapil & Srinath can be shown on record saying things of these nature. But if I did have to make an educated guess I would say that Srinath's atitude might very well have gone against him. A good comparison can be made with Chetan Sharma. The latter was hardly a fast bowler but he had fiery atitude. Kapil did use him very well and you can pick many an interview of CHetan Sharma where he showers glory on Kapil. The difference between CHetan and Srinath was that Srinath was just not fiery enough. Atleast thats what it showed on pitch. A very interesting point that people forget is that fans of Srinath, or Ishant or Zaheer for that matter, can make a claim that in the early years they did not get "support" from their seniors, who supported Kapil?? Famed Indian coaches are on record chidding Kapil that there are no fast bowlers in India, Indian openers were against Kapil when he bounced West Indies batsmen. Still the man has better record than most of the modern "greats" with all kind of "support" in initial period. I mean compare Kapil with Zaheer(easily the best that we have today). Kapil reached 100 wickets in 25 and 200 in 50. Zaheer has reached the former in 37 and till date has played 62 without touching 200 wickets. Plus of course Kapil had 2000 plus runs by this time as well. xxx

[Don Sharma]

Kapil reached 100 wickets in 25 and 200 in 50. Zaheer has reached the former in 37 and till date has played 62 without touching 200 wickets. Plus of course Kapil had 2000 plus runs by this time as well. xxx

Lurker, dont you think pitches played their part?

[Lurker]

Lurker' date=' dont you think pitches played their part?[/quote'] The pitches, and fielders, were lot worse during Kapil's time. The subcontinent tracks were duly graveyard of pacers back then and only West Indian greats would travel to India. England would send their second string side, Lillee never played in India, Hadlee came to India only once. Atleast these days you would have every single team sending their best XI. India did not have a pitch like Mohali back then. Most tracks were made for Sunny, Vishy and the likes. Another reason why I rate Jimmy Amarnath very high since he scored a lot of runs away from home. The fielding was total cr@p. Kapil was a natural outswing bowler, which he remained till he hung his boots, but he developed a good inswing delivery early on. It was not only to gain variation but also because he would see his catches being dropped in slip and gully and Indian prima donna batsmen acting as if nothing happened. Personally I have not seen an outswinger more lethal than Kapil Dev and to find that almost 50% of his wickets came off lbw and clean bowled should tell you some story. xxx

[bunny]

Not sure how much truth there is to the whole assertion of Srinath being thought of as a "rival" by Kapil. At most it is a hearsay, and yes I have heard it before. I would be very interested if either of these two gents - Kapil & Srinath can be shown on record saying things of these nature. But if I did have to make an educated guess I would say that Srinath's atitude might very well have gone against him. A good comparison can be made with Chetan Sharma. The latter was hardly a fast bowler but he had fiery atitude. Kapil did use him very well and you can pick many an interview of CHetan Sharma where he showers glory on Kapil. The difference between CHetan and Srinath was that Srinath was just not fiery enough. Atleast thats what it showed on pitch. A very interesting point that people forget is that fans of Srinath, or Ishant or Zaheer for that matter, can make a claim that in the early years they did not get "support" from their seniors, who supported Kapil?? Famed Indian coaches are on record chidding Kapil that there are no fast bowlers in India, Indian openers were against Kapil when he bounced West Indies batsmen. Still the man has better record than most of the modern "greats" with all kind of "support" in initial period. I mean compare Kapil with Zaheer(easily the best that we have today). Kapil reached 100 wickets in 25 and 200 in 50. Zaheer has reached the former in 37 and till date has played 62 without touching 200 wickets. Plus of course Kapil had 2000 plus runs by this time as well. xxx

well said. Enough of putting blame on seniors.

[Don Sharma]

The pitches, and fielders, were lot worse during Kapil's time. The subcontinent tracks were duly graveyard of pacers back then and only West Indian greats would travel to India. England would send their second string side, Lillee never played in India, Hadlee came to India only once. Atleast these days you would have every single team sending their best XI. India did not have a pitch like Mohali back then. Most tracks were made for Sunny, Vishy and the likes. Another reason why I rate Jimmy Amarnath very high since he scored a lot of runs away from home. The fielding was total cr@p. Kapil was a natural outswing bowler, which he remained till he hung his boots, but he developed a good inswing delivery early on. It was not only to gain variation but also because he would see his catches being dropped in slip and gully and Indian prima donna batsmen acting as if nothing happened. Personally I have not seen an outswinger more lethal than Kapil Dev and to find that almost 50% of his wickets came off lbw and clean bowled should tell you some story. xxx

I know England would send their second string side, still remember that Boycott episode, but I never knew pitches were that worse. Thanks for the info...and wat abt Lillee did he deliberately didn’t visit or was he injured or something

[amits]

i still remember the 6/21 of srinath against sa. we were defending only 170 & still won by 64 runs. also, there was 1 very unique thing in that spell. u guys try giving it. i will post the answer later:D

[Holysmoke]

Something said against Kapil, and Lurker babua is back!! :--D