The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Indian cricket star could be heading for Glenrothes...
Cricket superstar’s high hopes of revitalising career with Fife club as he fights to overturn ban
An Indian cricket star is preparing to put his Bollywood movie career on hold to return to the crease in Fife.
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, a legendary bowler who represented his country in 27 test matches, has announced he could sensationally return to the sport by signing for Glenrothes Cricket Club.
The 34-year-old has confirmed he is preparing to drop his millionaire lifestyle in India and uproot to the region, three years after being frozen out from the sport.
The fast-medium bowler was given a lifetime ban for an alleged role in a match-fixing scandal in his homeland but was exonerated by a Delhi court.
However, his ban from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains in place and Eddie Gibbs, a director of the Eastern Premier League club, said efforts were now under way to have this overturned to allow the star to continue his career at Gilvenbank Park.
“Sree was cleared of any wrongdoing in a court in Delhi two years ago,” he said.
“He and I met a few years ago at an event in London, we had a chat and sort of stayed in touch.”
Sreesanth was accused of spot-fixing in 2013 while playing in the Indian Premier League.
Although the charges against him were dropped his playing ban remains in place, despite the player claiming he has never received written notification of the order.
Mr Gibbs hopes reforms at the BCCI might allow Sreesanth’s ban to be lifted, freeing him up to complete his move to Glenrothes.
He said: “Sree will tell you himself that he intends to play cricket again.
“While he is being respectful to the BCCI, if this had to go all the way to the Court of Arbitration for sport in Switzerland then that’s where it will go.”
If the move were to go through it would mark a significant coup for Glenrothes.
With more than a million followers on Twitter, Sreesanth has recently branched out into appearing in Bollywood movies and is a regular fixture on the pages of Indian magazines with wife Bhuvneshwari Kumari, a member of a Rajasthani royal family.
On his possible move to Cricindex, Sreesanth said: “Eddie has been very helpful in motivating me.
“Glenrothes is a great opportunity for me. I’ve played with a lot of legends like Tendulkar and Ponting (and) I would love to share that experience and pass it on.”