Srinath stresses the importance of having a pace battery

During his playing days, Javagal Srinath often had to wage a lone battle as the pace spearhead and lacked support from the other end. Even though India’s fast bowling fortunes have changed for the better, constant injuries to the pacers have become a point of concern in recent times. As India looks to build the next core group of speedsters, Srinath stressed the importance of having a pack to share the burden.

“I always felt that fast bowling is about a group of bowlers together. It is about conservation of energy, and you will be able to build a good team. But if you are all alone, you will bowl 16-17 overs and become ineffective. So if you have three-four good quicks, your team is always effective, and the striking ability is far better,” said Srinath at a panel discussion during the Events and Entertainment Management Association conclave here on Saturday.

The Mysore Express, as he was called during his playing days, felt that having enough overs under one’s belt is key to avoiding injuries.

“If you don’t bowl enough and all of a sudden if you are bowling the third spell, that is around 3.30 p.m., you end up pulling a muscle or probably tearing your ligament or hamstring or whatever. So it is important that you play enough, which means good 1000-1600 overs a year that will keep you in good shape,” he said.

Srinath was a key part of the national side’s graph going up in the new millennium after the match-fixing scandal, and the Karnataka pacer praised Sourav Ganguly’s leadership during that phase.

“Post the match-fixing scandal, a lot of things came good to us. I think there was a bit of a resoluteness in every player to really put that image back and prove to the world that cricket was clean. Every individual showed leadership. Then the team started winning not only in India, but also abroad,” said Srinath. The 56-year-old is currently serving as an ICC Match Referee and has officiated in more than 500 games.