Kashif Qamar BBC Sport Online

The retirement of Javagal Srinath from the Test cricket will again leave a big hole in the Indian bowling line-up with no truly experienced pacemen in the side.

With plenty of talented batsmen awaiting the selectors' call, India has been facing a shortage of good fast bowlers for quite some time.

After the retirement of Kapil Dev in 1994, the Indians were not sure who would spearhead their bowling with the new ball.

But Srinath took the responsibility with both hands and rarely disappointed fans of the game in cricket-crazy India.

Be it making the initial breakthrough with the new ball, breaking up a vital partnership in the middle order or cleaning up the tail, Srinath was a dependable performer all along.

The 32-year old's debut in 1991 at Brisbane was decent enough as the young paceman, performing against Alan Border's strong Australian side, ended up with three wickets.

His venom often caught batsmen by surprise

Bowling with a smooth action, the Mysore-born seamer has been able to extract pace and bounce from even docile wickets.

Overuse

Lack of continuous support from the other end meant every Indian captain had to rely heavily on the trusted capabilities of Srinath, especially in times of crisis.

And this led to an overdose of cricket for Srinath. He was excessively used in his side's matches - sometimes in conditions which offered him zero assistance.

In 1997, a major shoulder injury forced a break from the game. After that, there was surgery, which at least saved his career.

But the resilient medium pacer then made a remarkable comeback and produced some of the finest performances of his career.

He touched the height of his career in the 1999 Asian Test Championship played in India when he produced his career-best figures - interestingly against the arch-rivals Pakistan.