Exclusive: Am not joining politics, says Javagal Srinath

Bangalore, Feb 4: Former India paceman Javagal Srinath on Tuesday confirmed that he is not entering

, putting rest to all the speculations surrounding him.

In the recent past, there were rumours of Srinath entering the political arena and contesting the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. A media report had claimed that Srinath has joined BJP and was set to take on former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda from Hassan (Karnataka) in this year's parliamentary elections.

Now, Srinath has put to rest all those speculations as he confirmed to Oneindia about his decision.

"I am not joining politics. I never had intentions of joining any political party or contesting Lok Sabha elections," Srinath told Oneindia. Forty-four-year-old Srinath, known as "Mysore Express" was until recently the secretary of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

Reports said the 44-year-old former cricketer has joined the BJP

Srinath and his former teammate Anil Kumble (president of KSCA) took charge of KSCA in 2010 and did a lot of development work for the game. After three years in office, both Srinath and Kumble decided not to contest the KSCA elections last year. Srinath is currently an ICC Match Referee. He played 67 Tests (236 wickets) and 229 One Day Internationals (315 wickets) for India.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly too recently said he was not joining politics. He said this to bury speculation that he was about to join the BJP.

OneIndia News