Javagal Srinath didn't get the credit he deserved, proclaims Shaun Pollock
Shaun Pollock has stated that Javagal Srinath was a fine bowler for India but didn't get the credit he deserved simply because of the other willy operators of his era. Pollock further added that he has a lot of respect for Dale Steyn whose ability to shape the ball upfront made him special.
After Kapil Dev's swing bowling dominated talks for over a decade and a half, Srinath emerged as one of India's finest pace bowler, and certainly the fastest. His strong shoulder action and the ability to hit the pitch with force, and bowled mainly incutters and inswingers made him a force of nature. But in the popular imagination, Srinath doesn't come as a revered entity, something that makes Shaun Pollock unhappy. The former South African pacer further added that Malcolm Marshal had a huge influence on him as a young cricketer.
"I thought India's Javagal Srinath didn't get the credit he deserved. In my era, you had great combinations like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for Pakistan and Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh for West Indies. Australia had Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee. You now have James Anderson and Stuart Broad in this era," Pollock said during a Sky Sports podcast with former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding and England's Stuart Broad, reported Times of India.
Dale Steyn overcame Shaun Pollock's record of highest Test wicket for a South African bowler before retiring from Test cricket. Pollock, who has always been a huge Steyn fan and mentored the pacer early on his career, stated that cannot have enough respect for his compatriot.
"But since I've stopped playing, l cannot have enough respect for (Dale) Steyn. His ability to shape the ball upfront at high speed and then come back later and reverse it. He cranked it up on flat wickets and had such a good action and variations. He is something special and his stats back it up," Pollock added.