CHENNAI: If Javagal Srinath had been the match referee when former India captain Sourav Ganguly famously stored his Australian counterpart Steve Waugh ready on the toss in the course of the 2001 Eden Gardens Check match, Ganguly might effectively have confronted a suspension!“I might have banned Sourav for a number of video games,” Srinath mentioned at an occasion right here whereas recalling the incident, which has gone down in historical past as an act of gamesmanship that rattled Waugh and the Australian group in the course of the course of the well-known collection that India received 2-1. Ganguly later mentioned that he couldn’t discover his blazer, resulting in an impromptu delay.Srinath, nonetheless, praised Ganguly’s management, notably his skill to nurture children corresponding to Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag. He felt Indian cricket underwent a serious transformation after the match-fixing scandal of the late Nineteen Nineties, with gamers creating a collective resolve to revive the sport’s picture.“There was a little bit of a resoluteness in each participant to essentially put that picture again after which show to the world that cricket is superior, cricket is clear,” Srinath mentioned. He recalled that between 1991 and 1997-98, India struggled to win overseas however issues started altering from 1999 on.Trying again on the 2003 World Cup remaining in opposition to Australia, Srinath revealed that he had needed India to bat first after a dialogue throughout the group. “I used to be one of many guys who mentioned we should always at all times bat first after which put them underneath stress,” he mentioned. However Ganguly had a distinct view. And as soon as the choice was made, Srinath mentioned the group needed to transfer on, however Australia have been just too sturdy.He recalled recommending Zaheer to selector Chandu Borde after watching the left-arm pacer take six wickets in opposition to Air India whereas representing the MRF Tempo Basis. When Borde jokingly requested what would occur to Srinath if Zaheer was picked, his response was easy: “If he’s good, he replaces me.”
