Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble make a likely couple. They grew up carving out wins for Karnataka, did the same for India in India, and even got married on the same day (by coincidence, they insist). Both are qualified engineers; both bat far worse than they should; both run between wickets like men on puppet strings; both field like men in a minefield. Both wear moustaches too, though Kumble's mostly bristles with aggression, while Srinath's usually droops with disappointment. But not today, at Mumbai's Press Club, where the pair came by for a chat with the media.

Srinath didn't, for example, hide behind the favourite excuse of an Indian fast bowler – the pitches. "I don't think it's disheartening bowling in India. You get reverse-swing here, you have to learn how to use the conditions. I have no regrets about bowling in India."

He did feel that cricket was a batsman's game. "You have to accept the reality. If you talk to any kid on the street, he will tell you that he wants to hit sixes, not take wickets." But a little left-hook at Sourav Ganguly was in order: "What can you do if the captain – most of the time the captain is a batsman – doesn't want a sporting wicket? The lead has to come from the batsmen if things have to change."

Kumble sat studiously and answered teasers with dignity. He has had an increasing share of the spotlight with Ganguly's every failure with the bat. At Chennai last week, Kumble captained India to victory over England, and commentators and writers enthused unabashedly about his leadership. He could have really excited the press – and the selectors – if he'd wanted to. Instead, all he said that it was "a great honour" to lead India.

Kumble was asked whether he would have bowled Ashley Giles's line if the situation and the captain demanded it. He could have taken a pot-shot at England if he wanted to. But he merely said that it didn't "suit my style. I get most of my wickets with lbws or caught at bat-pad. But if the captain wanted me to stop runs, I would do it."

Beside him, Ajit Wadekar, who was the manager for India's string of home successes in the mid-1990s, most of which were masterminded by Kumble, beamed proudly. "People point out that he has taken most of his wickets on home pitches," he said. "But the pitch was the same for opposition spinners too. Why weren't they as successful?

"Chandra and Kumble have been compared a lot. Chandra was unstoppable when he got it right. But he had to get it right. He needed motivation. Kumble doesn't need two overs to settle in. He never loses hope. Never gets frustrated. Not only was he my best bowler, he was also my calculator. In one-day matches, the run rates and net run rates could get quite confusing, but he used to do it in seconds. He has that kind of a brain."

Wadekar was less gushing about Srinath. "Srinath is a living example of a man who hasn't exploited his talent. Especially with the bat, I think, he has let me down. He is batting at No. 11 now. Thank God they can't put him lower."

Srinath and Kumble have something else in common. They have both come back from career-threatening shoulder injuries. And while Srinath thanked his doctor, Kumble thanked Srinath. "When you have an arm in a sling you just want to be able to bowl a ball. I had seen Sri fight his way back from injury. That in itself was motivation." Srinath smiled like one who'd been just paid the compliment of his life.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India.

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