Santhakuraman Sreesanth was one of India's most promising fast bowlers. He got his maiden ODI call-up after his Man-of-the-series performance as he bagged 7 wickets in the Challenger Trophy, October 2005. In his debut against Sri Lanka, he got two wickets.
Quality Test bowler
The world remembers Sreesanth as a Test bowler than an ODI bowler. He had done really well in the longest format of the game. In the 27 matches he played for India, he claimed 87 wickets with three 5 wicket haul.
In 2006, India travelled South Africa and were thrashed by the hosts in the one-dayers by 4-0. The Proteas were aiming a kill in the Test series but the Kerala speedster had other ideas.
By virtue of his ruthless bowling, Sreesanth dismissed South Africa for a mere 84 runs in the first innings. He picked up 5 opposition wickets by giving only 40 runs.
He was excellent in the second innings also and bagged 3 wickets. With the help of Sreesanth's heroics, India won the match by 123 runs and it was the first Test win for India in South African soil.
2007 T20 World Cup
In the semifinal against Australia, Sreesanth was at his best and dismissed both Aussies openers Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden for just 12 runs in four overs.
Who forgets the catch of Misbah ul Haq by Sreesanth in the 2007 T20 World Cup final? Pakistan were well on course for winning the inaugural twenty-twenty World Cup as they needed only 6 runs from four balls and Misbah's confidence was sky high after hitting the second ball of the over for a six.
The overconfidence did the current Pakistan Test team captain as he tried to scoop the very next ball over fine leg only to be caught by Sreesanth and by means of that Dhoni's men emerged as T20 champions.
Match fixing and lifetime ban
He could have been the answer for India’s never-ending search for a quality fast bowler. But, all his hard work were cut short by the match-fixing controversy in the 2013 edition of the IPL.
Even though the Supreme Court had given acquittal to him, BCCI didn't withdraw his lifetime ban.
Amir's sensational return and Butt's possible come back
Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt were involved in match fixing in 2010. The incident is clearly stated as:
“The Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal of 2010 centres on certain members of Pakistan's national cricket team being convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed, to under-perform deliberately at certain times in a Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, in 2010. Undercover reporters from News of the World secretly videotaped Mazhar Majeed accepting money and informing the reporters that fast bowlers Asif and Amir would deliberately bowl no-balls at specific points in an over.”
As they were found guilty, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned three players—Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir—for terms of between 5 and 10 years. Amir and Butt have apologised to Pakistan Cricket Board of late.
What followed? The left-armer were recalled to the national team and has performed impressively since his come back. On the other hand, Butt is hoping to don green jersey again. If all goes well, the southpaw will be in action soon.
Why the same not applicable to the Kerala pacer?
BCCI doesn't allow the man who was proven innocent by Supreme Court. On the contrary, PCB has allowed the guy who was found guilty. Both men in question are talented and promising bowlers. One is being punished even after realising allegations were wrong, other is with flying colours again.
The only problem Sreesanth had was that he was really aggressive in the field. We can't see a calm Virat Kohli or aggressive Dhoni in the middle. So, how could we blame the right-armer for his over aggressiveness?
Kohli has spoken highly on Amir but what about Sreesanth? Why any former teammates or technical staffs are not willing to bat for the man from Cochin? Is that injustice?
As an Indian cricket fan, I believe Sreesanth should be allowed to play again.
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