Sports
Updated : Sep 29, 2017, 06:18 PM IST
Former India spearhead Javagal Srinath, considered by many as one of the fastest bowlers produced by the country, was the match referee in all the four internationals (1 ODI and 3 T20I) played by 22-year-old Sean Abbott.
Srinath said on Thursday that his heart went out for the beleaguered Aussie pacer, whose bouncer proved fatal for Phil Hughes.
“I feel for Abott. He will be hurt tremendously with what has happened. That will remain with him for the rest of his life and it is not a pleasant thing to be living with.
“And his own conscience, I can think for him and feel sorry for him too. (Any amount of) counselling cannot totally compensate him for what he is going through at the moment. We should sympathise with him and empathise with him for what he is going through,” Srinath said.
Earlier this week, Javagal Srinath returned from Down Under after officiating the T20 and ODI series involving hosts Australia and South Africa. “It is such a depressing feeling, very unfortunate. I can't believe he (Phil Hughes) is the chosen one to die, it could have been anybody, for that matter,” Srinath said.
Srinath's deliveries hit Ricky Ponting through the helmet during 1999-2000 tour and New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming on his ear in 1998.
On the 1991-92 tour of South Africa, a Srinath bouncer in the Johannesburg Test hurt bowler Meyrick Pringle badly on the left eye that the Protean had to be stretchered off and did not take any further part in the game.
“Aggression is such an important part of fast bowling. Honestly, no fast bowler would want to see such things (Hughes death). Forget about this extent of dying, even blood is not a good sight for a fast bowler.
“I can vouch for all the fast bowlers that it hurts when you hurt someone. It really hurts. That pain is not a physical pain but it is agony. I can go through this in my role as a batsman. That is the risk that you take,” the 45-year-old Srinath said.
On a fast bowler's aggression, Srinath said: “When you get hooked for a six, you always come back with a vengeance to test the batsman again. But that should only remain between bat and the ball. That should not physically harm anyone.”
Srinath did not want words like “killer instinct”, “go for the kill” to be used by commentators and experts.
“I'd like to make a point to all the cricket pundits never to use words like 'killer instinct', 'go for the kill'. Such words don't augur well for the game. Another point is that you can look into the protective gears once again. Having said that, when you play the game with the hard ball, you can never be sure.”