Two weeks ago, Javagal Srinath was an afterthought when it came to discussing the Indian squad for the forthcoming World Cup. As far as India's one-day cricket went, the accent in recent times had been very much on the future. Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan were ensconced as the new ball pairing, despite Nehra's indifferent displays in England. But the failure of both Tinu Yohannan and Ajit Agarkar to show any semblance of consistency meant that Srinath's presence could always be felt on the outside, looking in with keen interest. Nehra's split webbing has given Srinath the unlikeliest of look-ins, moreover in a one-day game that is probably only second in importance to the World Cup final. Suddenly, there is talk of a return to the Test team against the West Indies, though Sourav Ganguly admits that his refusal to tour England was a terrible disappointment to the side. Srinath is clearly at a stage in his career where he feels he has earned the right to pick and choose his matches, much like Allan Donald for South Africa over the past few years. But it remains to be seen how much he can bring to the mix.

As far as one-day matches go, the jury will always be out. Srinath has 276 wickets from 204 games, but they have come at an economy rate of 4.48, far higher than the greats of the game. And for all the excellent spells with the new ball, his bowling in the slog overs has all too frequently been woeful. If he does play tomorrow, India's best bet is to bowl him out at a stretch, or in two spells early in the innings. His last devastating burst in a one-dayer came against Australia – in a losing cause – at the Sydney Cricket Ground three years ago, and over the last twelve games he played, he managed only 15 wickets at 32.2 and an economy rate of 4.81. This might explain why he has rarely been missed.

With the bat, the man who once won India a game in alliance with Anil Kumble became a liability long ago, and he is little better in the field. And in 26 matches against Sri Lanka, he has mustered just 30 wickets, including a miserable two in six matches at the Premadasa. While Sanath Jayasuriya paid lip service to his arrival at the press conference, it was very clear that the Sri Lankans are hardly quaking in their training shoes. Ajit Agarkar might have worried them even less but only Indian fans blinded by rainbows will expect miracles from Srinath on Sunday. Perhaps that might inspire him, given that most people find his appetite for the game as questionable as Graeme Thorpe's.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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