Sreesanth limbering up
Paceman fancies return after being cleared
A DAY after he was exonerated by a court in Delhi in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing case, former Indian pacer S Sreesanth on Sunday had his first nets workout.
Cheered by a good number of his friends and cricket enthusiasts, Sreesanth turned out on Sunday evening in a blue tracksuit at the Edapally High School ground where the Ernakulam Cricket Club, his former club, has a net.
Before starting his first full net session in almost two years, Sreesanth said it would take him about three weeks to become match-fit.
He bowled and batted and proved that he had not lost anything in the almost two years of being entangled in the case, in which he even had to spend time in Delhi’s Tihar jail.
It was on Saturday evening that the Delhi Patiala House court cleared Sreesanth of all charges in the spot-fixing scandal.
Earlier in the day, at 9.30 am, he arrived at the Delhi airport and was given a warm welcome by his relatives, friends and well-wishers.
An hour later it was all hugs and smiles at his residence, where his parents and close relatives gave him muchneeded moral support.
“I take this opportunity to thank each one of my well wishers who stood behind me in my time of suffering,” Sreesanth said.
“This is a sort of a second life for me… even if it’s tennis ball cricket, I will take part to get back to full fledged cricket.”
Meanwhile, he was yet to get any positive vibes from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and he will have to wait a while to get back into full-fledged cricketing activities. BCCI vice president and Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president TC Mathew said that since he was out of town, he would be able to write to the BCCI only when he returned to request the lifting of the ban on Sreesanth.
“If need be, a delegation of the KCA will travel to meet the top BCCI officials to take up the case of Sreesanth and to see that the ban is lifted,” Mathew told reporters.
Rebecca John, counsel for Sreesanth, said Sreesanth had nothing to fear even if the Delhi Police approached a higher court with an appeal.
“They are free to go ahead with the appeal, but we will see that they are given a stronger setback,” John told the media in Delhi.
– IANS