Can't wait to represent India in Test cricket again, says S Sreesanth

For the last six years, Sreesanth has been fighting a legal battle to overturn a life ban imposed on him by the BCCI for his alleged involvement in the IPL spot-fixing scandal in 2013. On Tuesday, the BCCI Ombudsman, Justice (retd) DK Jain, mitigated his ban to seven years. Having already served out nearly six years of his ban, the new order means that the pacer can return to the cricket field from mid-September next year. But he will have stiff competition to face within the bowlers' fraternity.

“There were a lot of fast bowlers in the country even when I started playing cricket. Guys like Javagal Srinath, Zaheer, Ashish Nehra were all there. Still, I pursued my dream. You know my jersey number was 36 when I played for India. There was a reason for that. When I went for a camp in Bengaluru in 2005 organised by former India coach Greg Chappell, I was pencilled in as the 36th fast bowler (in order of merit). Yet, I went past the other 35 to make it to the national side. Believe me, I can do that all over again,” Sreesanth told TOI.

Sreesanth, who will be 37 by then, is confident he has at least five years of cricket left in him, and he has set realistic milestones to achieve within that time. 

“I think I still have at least five years of cricket left in me. I just can't wait to don the whites again. My first priority will be to return to club-level cricket and gauge where I stand. Once I do that, my next target will be to make it to the state side for domestic cricket next year. I just don’t want to be a mentor of the Kerala team. I want to be the best performing player of the Kerala team. My target is to make it to the Kerala squad for KSCA trophy next year. Then I want to help them win the Ranji title and play the Irani Cup,” Sreesanth said. 

“If I do consistently well for Kerala in domestic cricket, I can look at playing for the country again. I would love to play the Test championship and complete my target of 100 Test wickets. I would be disappointed with myself if I don’t play for the national team on my return to cricket. It will be an inspiring story for generations to come,” he continued.

Sreesanth expressed his utter relief on receiving this new lease on life, before which life had been tough going for him and his family.

“[I am] relieved more than anything. God has been extremely kind. I would like to thank my family, my friends, the Kerala Cricket Association, even the BCCI and DK Jain sir. Not just me, my entire family has been through a really trying period. I think God has given me enough strength to fight through adversity. There are a lot of people who supported me in my tough times. It has helped me. In the last six years, I have learnt that there is no good or bad in life. I take each incident in my life as an experience,” Sreesanth said. 

Sreesanth agrees that it came as a blessing in disguise that he gets a year’s time to be back in top shape.