Srinath retires from first-class cricket

Finally, this could be it for Javagal Srinath. According to London's Daily Telegraph, Srinath announced his decision to retire from first-class cricket today at the Stockton ground in Durham, for whom he has been playing in this year's county championship.

Srinath had signed a contract recently with the South African team, Gauteng, for the next South African season. He was reportedly supposed to play a dual role for them; playing, as well as coaching young talent. It appears that he will now just focus on coaching.

Retirement is a subject Srinath has wrestled with for a while now. Tired and disgruntled after India's tour to West Indies in 2001-02, he announced his retirement from Test matches, saying that he would continue playing one-day international cricket. He was coaxed out of retirement by India's captain, Sourav Ganguly, and played a vital role in mentoring India's young fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra.

Interestingly, Srinath has indicated that he may still continue playing limited-overs cricket.