Javagal Srinath and Sachin Tendulkar were the leaders of the Indian team in the 90s in their own fields. Srinath helmed the bowling attack with gusto, as Tendulkar led the batting with his admirably great performances.
However, there were times when even a seasoned pro like Srinath needed some help to calm down his nerves. In an instance narrated by former India player Hemang Badani recalls that in 2002, during the ODI series against England at home, ahead of the Cuttack match, Tendulkar found Srinath to be a bit nervous and out of his elements.
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“Java [Srinath] is extremely vocal and very confident in his normal self, but for some strange reason, he was a little nervous that day, something which Tendulkar noticed,” says Badani on his Instagram account on the episode of #StorieswithHemangBadani.
The leading batsman in the world at the time decided that it was the right time for a prank and instructed Badani to replace Srinath’s trousers in his kit-bag with his own. Now imagine a 6’3” tall Srinath wearing pants of 5’5” Tendulkar.
“To just try and lighten the mood and to make sure that Srinath got back to normalcy, during practice before the game when the match hadn’t started yet, he asked me to switch trousers. He said, ‘Take my trousers, put them in Srinath’s bag, and pull out his trousers and keep it away wherever you can, be it in your bag, be it in my bag. Just take it away,’” Badani pointed.
“Srinath, obviously being a 6′2, 6’3 [tall], had really long pants, and Sachin, being about 5’5, 5’6 had shorter pants. Srinath being Srinath, doesn’t even care. He finishes his practice, gets back to the dressing room, puts his trousers on, gets on the field, bowls the first ball, and there are people laughing on the field. The Indian side is laughing on the field, and little does he realize what’s happened,” Badani recalls.
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Then someone pointed out to Srinath about the pants and then he realized what had happened. All this prank, laughter, and lighter mood put the Mysore Express in a good mood and it helped India a lot as he returned with figures of 1/41 in the ODI against England.
“But he had to come off the field after the first over, he changed his trousers, he asked me, ‘What the hell is happening, kisne kia [who did it]’ and all that. I said I have no clue. I innocently put my hands up and said, ‘I don’t know, Sri, what you’re talking about. I don’t know what’s happening!’ And [he] eventually changed his trousers, went back in, and he bowled a brilliant spell,” Badani says.
