Javagal Srinath wants Indian seamers to assist their spinners during home season

With the focus firmly on abrasive and rapidly deteriorating surfaces for their wily spinners to exploit, there could be a possibility that the quicker men may find themselves taken out of the equation more often than not. However, former Indian pacer Javagal Srinath has called for a more proactive approach from the seam bowlers if they are to remain in their skipper’s plans.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, the 47-year old who is currently a well-respected match referee shed light into a seamer’s thought process on prising out wickets under spin-friendly conditions in the subcontinent.

Srinath revealed, “I assure you that that in our conditions, reverse swing can be more effective than normal swing. Indian wickets facilitate reverse swing regularly and it is up to the bowlers to seize the opportunities which come their way. Pacers have to be ready to understand the nuances of reverse swing recognizing when exactly the conditions start aiding them. Reverse swing can rescue you even on flat tracks.”

Debuting as a tear away at the Gabba in 1991, Srinath added more skills to his repertoire as the workload began to increase substantially. He was a highly useful asset even on dust bowls with 108 scalps from 32 Tests at an average of 26.61 in India.

One of the major reasons behind his impressive record at home can be attributed to a shrewd handling of the old ball which was on complete display against South Africa in Ahmedabad during the 1996 series.

Apart from relying on reverse-swing, he also managed to extract movement by utilizing the seam productively. With modern-day outfields looking increasingly lush, the chances of weaponizing the old ball seem to be reducing. Since spinners have been running riot on a regular basis at home, India’s seamers are not used to bowling longer spells.

Opening up on the ingredients required for a fast bowler to carve out a fruitful career on Indian pitches, the ‘Mysore Express’ believed, “If they see Test match cricket as a long, tiring endeavor, too much hard work on flat, lifeless tracks, that's just how it's going to be.

“Negative thinking hasn't taken anyone anywhere. With such an attitude, one of them will come in and play two matches. Then, someone else will replace him and the chain goes on.”

He added, “Every bowler should put up his hand and ask to be counted, he should approach this string of matches with the mindset of playing all 13 games. As they bowl more and more in these matches, they'll hit their stride naturally without really having to sweat it out at the nets.

“They'll have to be fresh. You have to be a wicket-taker. You can't just be a player filling in the bowlers' column. That can weigh down the other bowlers in the team.”

India have four fast bowlers in their squad for the 3 Tests against New Zealand in Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It remains to be seen if they can pay heed to Srinath’s advice and force themselves into the limelight.