I swear on my family I wasn’t involved in fixing, states S Sreesanth

S Sreesanth has had a harrowing past few years to say the least, having gone through immense emotional and physical strains after he was accused of match-fixing in an IPL match six years ago. However, the BCCI ombudsman DK Jain recently cut down his life ban to a period of seven years after a Supreme Court directive, which will allow him to return to cricketing action soon. Regardless, Sreesanth maintains his innocence in the incident that has stained his career.

“I swear on my kids, I swear on my dad, who is ill but surviving for the last five-and-half years just to watch a match, I swear on my mom, who had her left leg amputated just one-and-half months back and who hasn’t given up hope of watching me in a match — I haven’t done it (spot-fixed in a game). I will never do it even for 100 crores,” he said to the Indian express.

Having spent nearly a month in the Tihar jail where he was subject to brutal interrogation, where at a point he admits he was on the floor of a ‘bloody washroom,’ he shared his experience of the same and the trauma that ensued upon his release, including multiple suicide attempts.

“People are looking down at you as if you would run away. I was lying there, trying to figure out what wrong I had done. Mentally, physically, emotionally drained. No sleep. I might have nodded off at 2 in the night, they would wake me up at 2.30 and ask question. Why did you do this, who is this guy, what is happening there.

"I would break down for no reason. I used to get seizures for 6-7 weeks. I couldn’t sleep as in Tihar they had that bulb that they wouldn’t switch off. I came close, very close, to death four-five times but I pulled myself back. Some power, even bigger than god, like something that made god maybe. I have grown a lot more philosophical in the last six years,” Sreesanth insightfully revealed. 

He, along with a couple other Rajasthan Royals cricketers, had been arrested after a fateful match against the Kings XI Punjab in which Sreesanth had given away thirteen runs in an over, eight of them coming off the last two deliveries.

“That over to Adam Gilchrist, I gave five runs from four balls. Even a blind man following cricket commentary will wonder how he is going to give so many runs in the next two balls! Then they said I tried to bowl a wide and no ball in the next two balls. One media even showed a video from different match to suggest that the last ball was a no ball. A footage from a different game, how low they can fall?” he recalled.

However, the cricketer now seems to have complete his revitalization and the prospect of returning to the gentleman’s game, apart from being in movies and writing an autobiography excites him. He intends to be of support to all such people who have been accused like him even though they haven’t committed any crime.

“In the last few years, I can proudly say that I can now control my subconscious mind and program it positively. Anyone who has lost in business, or very down in life and having dark thoughts, I want to tell them never ever doubt your ability. I want them to think if Sreesanth can come back from hell, then I also can. I want to be an inspiration,” he revealed.

Not having lost any of his sense of humour, he ended with a typical one-liner after showing a few videos of his return in which he had the batsmen all over the place with his inswingers and cutters, before showing Tik tok videos to flaunt his acting skills.

“Ethir parkale-ley? Naan thirumbi varuvenu, ethir parkale-ley? (Didn’t expect, right? You didn’t expect I would come back, right?),” he signed off.