Blog 21: Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth-- "NOT GUILTY"

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CAREER

Born on February 6, 1983, Sreesanth initially wanted to be a leg spinner, but after creating ripples with his yorkers he soon converted into a fast bowler. Sreesanth was the first ever player from Kerala to get selected in the Indian Cricket Team after his amazing performance in Ranji Trophy and Challenger Trophy. He gained fame quickly after he took a hat-trick against Himachal Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy game and later on picked the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the Challenger Trophy where he played for India B. His aggression and frequent sledging prompted Sachin to reportedly tell him ' never come that close to me again'. He was the leading wicket taker in that series and was rewarded a selection to the Indian team for the ODI series against Sri Lanka.  

As his ODI career grew, his consistent performances led to him being given a Test cap against England in March 2006. His break-through performance came in the opening test against South Africa in 2007. Sreesanth scythed through the South African batting line-up with figures of 5-40, this led Indian to their first ever victory on South African soil. During that series, Sreesanth achieved further non-cricketing fame when he twirled his bat and shook his hips in a dance step after hitting Andre Nel for a six over his head, gaining him instant notoriety. 

Kings XI Punjab picked him in 2008, during which he was involved in the infamous 'slapgate' incident. Despite that incident, he had a good season in the Indian Premier League, as he was the second leading wicket taker in the tournament after Sohail Tanveer. Persistent injuries however forced Sreesanth out of the Indian side for some time. 

Sreesanth was given a shock recall for a three match test series against Sri Lanka in late 2009. He was picking up excellent form, but he was in and out of the side because of his troublesome toes. Several surgeries took place, and he returned to competitive cricket in the end of 2012 domestic season. 

TURN OF EVENTS

Sreesanth was involved, or rather he was betrayed by some of his friends and coaches, which made it seem like he was the only one involved in a spot-fixing scandal during the 2013 IPL. BCCI gave him a lifetime ban from all forms of cricket, which was a tremendous turn of events in his career. He was being treated like a terrorist, but what actually happened was totally different. Without a valid proof and evidence, they roped Sreesanth in for the investigation and asked him to sign a document which had a statement very different from what Sreesanth had explained. The player refused to sign, which then made the investigating officer to forcefully put charges on the innocent. They presented pictures of him and his friend together while assuming that he was with a bookie. Based on just accusations, they proved Sreesanth guilty, due to which he lost 7 years. Rajasthan Royals were very tricky and washed their hands by saying they had terminated Sreesanth's contract way before the incident, which was the biggest lie as the player was asked to go to Delhi for his upcoming match. The RR Coach Paddy Upton was also involved in this incident, as he was the one who sold the inside stories about Sreesanth, which didn't actually take place. Sreesanth was given a chance to explain and tell the truth, which he did eventually just moments before he was handed the life ban, but the in charge was vulgar and took nothing which Sreesanth said into consideration which also tells us he might be involved in this scandal too. 

Not just Sreesanth but many others were involved, but only he was punished and lost his crucial years of his career due to unfair investigation.

COMEBACK

India's Supreme Court in March 2019 set aside the life ban imposed on Sreesanth and reduced it to 7 years. He was set to return to domestic cricket in September 2020 but could not do so due to the pandemic. The player is determined to win the Ranji Trophy for Kerala and is currently playing in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. India undoubtedly needs a deadly bowler like him and lets hope everything goes well and we get to see him back in the Indian side.