Sreesanth 'eagerly waiting' to play again as ban approaches end

Indian pacer Sreesanth has said that he is eagerly waiting to get back on the field again and bowl as his seven-year-long ban is due to end in September this year.

Sreesanth was banned from playing cricket for life by the BCCI for allegedly being involved in spot-fixing in the 2013 IPL along with fellow Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan. But last year, Sreesanth's ban was reduced to seven years that makes him eligible to play for Kerela in the upcoming Ranji season. In this regard, Sreesanth is awaiting an official announcement.

"The official announcement will come in September, I am just continuing with my training. Everybody is being supportive from the Secretary to Director General, everybody has been supportive, selectors and coach want me in the team."

"I am just training, let's see, I am fit and raring to go. You will see me playing, I am just eagerly waiting to go forward. It's very, very clear I will be in the squad, the official announcement will be in September so I have to follow the rules and do things accordingly," Sreesanth told ANI.

You need to move on and adapt: Sreesanth

Sreesanth was eagerly looking forward to playing again as his ban was to end in September.

As it had been seven long years since he last bowled in an official matcg, Sreesanth knows that a lot of things have changed in cricket but he was still looking forward to playing the game as he was missing it a lot.

One of the recent changes that has come about are the new ICC playing regulations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the proposed rule changes involves the ban on the usage of saliva. While many bowlers thought that it would tilt the game more in favour of batsmen, Sreesanth believes that the modern game is all about adapting to changes.

"It's being blown out of proportion. You can use sweat as well. You have to take care, you have to respect every decision the association is taking. It all comes down to skills. When I played county cricket, I learned that you just have to maintain the ball: it's more of keeping the ball dry."

"I am very happy in one way, there is a positive that only the skillful bowlers can now perform. You need to move on and adapt. You have to adapt if you want to become successful. The need of the hour is to adapt. It's about practice, and players will eventually get used to it," Sreesanth concluded.