'Srinath cannot come and go as he pleases'

The Indian cricket selection committee on Friday sent out a strong message signalling the end of veteran fast bowler Javagal Srinath's hopes of playing in the eighth edition of the World Cup in South Africa next year.

After an hour-long meeting at the boardroom of the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the selectors decided against picking Srinath in the list of 20 probables for the 12-nation ICC Champions Trophy to be held in Sri Lanka from September 12.

Srinath had announced his retirement from Test cricket on June 1, but had expressed his desire to continue playing one-day internationals leading up to the World Cup.

Niranjan Shah, honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said that though Srinath's name was discussed at the meeting, the selectors thought he would not be required for the tournament.

Former Test batsman and current selector Ashok Malhotra was livid when asked about Srinath's exclusion. "Instead of asking us about his exclusion, why don't you ask Srinath why he chose to send a letter to the selectors asking to be rested from the one-dayers?" said the man who was part of the team that won the 1985 World Series Championship in Australia. Wisden has chosen that team as its Indian team of the century.

"When has a captain ever made 10 calls to a player requesting him to come back to the team and been turned down? If you don't play when the team needs you, how can you think of coming back easily into the team whenever you want to?" Malhotra said.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly had requested Srinath to tour England for the Test series, but was turned down.

Malhotra said it was no secret that the team was missing Srinath in the Tests in England. "Srinath is a superb performer and a big player, but he made one decision, we [the selectors] will make the other."

Malhotra argued that if Srinath was picked for the one-day squad, one of the three current seamers, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, and Ajit Agarkar, will have to be dropped and that will be unfair. "Should we throw one of them into the River Thames?" he joked.

With Agarkar registering his maiden Test hundred, Malhotra feels that he could fill the all-rounder's slot in the team besides being the best fielder amongst the bowlers. "Cricket is a young man's game. Where do we hide Srinath on the field?" he said.

The selector clarified that the curtains were not drawn on Srinath's future and the World Cup was still some distance away. "We might be a bunch of jokers in this country, but we have selected the side that won the one-day tournament in England and have emphasized the need for injecting young blood into the team," he remarked.

With some changes due to be effected in the selection committee in September, Malhotra's candid remarks perhaps point towards the completion of his tenure as well.

Srinath when contacted refused to comment on his exclusion.

Also read: Srinath not in probables for ICC Knockout