Srinath on his early retirement: My hands and knees had gone down

Javagal Srinath gestures during a practice session in Bangalore, 01 March 2000, prior to the second cricket test against South Africa. Picture/ AFP

Former Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath was part of the pace duo alongside Venkatesh Prasad for the better part of the 90s. Srinath and Prasad along with spinner Anil Kumble formed a terrific bowling trio together for Team India.

Javagal Srinath, who turned 50 in August last year, retired from the game in 2003 after playing for 12 years. Srinath played 67 Test and 229 ODIs for India taking 236 and 315 in those respective formats.

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The second episode of Star Sports 1 Kannada show 'Diggajara Danthakathe' saw former India fast-bowler and current ICC Match Referee Javagal Srinath as the special guest. In the segment discussing about the fast bowling attack in the 90s, Srinath shared his opinion, "There should have been another two to three players consistently with us. Venky [Venkatesh Prasad] was there for five to six years. But others kept changing. When that happens, the bowling team dynamics will be missing. We build strategy on our strengths. But that became difficult because of the changes. Later on, Zaheer and Ashish came, and ramped up quickly. At that time, we were able to produce results. Spinners Anil and Harbhajan formed a terrific pair together. Fast bowling used to miss that a lot."

Asked about his early retirement, Srinath said, "My hands and knees had gone down. At that time, Zaheer and Ashish were there. When I used to play, only one of them used to get a chance. I also went through the same phase before when Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar were there. Sometimes on the pitch, if there are only two fast bowlers, it used to become difficult. And I found it difficult to bowl on India pitches. I was already 33 at that time. I could probably play for another year, but my knees made it difficult."

Star Sports 1 Kannada continues to delight cricket fans with its new show "Diggajara Danthakathe" which sees Vijay Bharadwaj engage in conversation with legends of Karnataka cricket. The show captures experiences of the legends off the field and life beyond cricket. It takes us through their journey and untold stories. Along with their illustrious career, viewers will also get to see the lighter side of their favourite legends, such as them sharing their memorable moments, movies, songs and celebrity lives.

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