The Last Yard Of Mysore Express

On the field, his never-say-die spirit inspired all of us. He was never the one to give up easily—he'd bowl with the same fire and zeal even towards the end of the day. When I came to Tests, he used to help me a lot with his tips on bowling to a particular batsman and a number of other things. Later on, as I gained experience, we used to talk at team meetings about how to have a go at a batsman.

I think he liked the wickets at Calcutta and Mumbai. I would say that it is a sign of his greatness that he never rubbished any player as average—for him every player was the same. He was cool and would not swear at a batsman but I was more aggressive and do something every now and then to rattle the batsman. Pace was his strength and when he got to know that he had to pitch up a little more than he was doing, he got a lot of wickets. I saw him do this during the last tour of South Africa.

Everyone in the team would call him 'Sri' or 'Javi' but there's one interesting name he got from Bob Simpson. When Bob was the consultant during the '99 World Cup, he used to call us the 'Bangalore mafia' because we were four or five in the team and Srinath was called the Don.I guess he liked it. He actually talks a lot compared to the rest of us. Srinath is religious, believes in God and prays regularly. But he is not superstitious. I am superstitious and always put my right foot forward, while boarding the bus or stepping on to the field.

I am trying to stage a comeback and am sure I will. But when I do, I will miss him. I spoke to him the same morning he announced his retirement from Tests and he said he could not motivate himself to bowl. When you reach that stage, it is difficult to carry on.

But I must tell you this—he told me about his decision to retire in a jovial tone and didn't at all sound sad. I will be happy if he could be persuaded to play for some more time. I think he could have played one more year.