By the age of 37, most of the cricketers end their careers and retire only to be seen in T20 and the other domestic leagues. However, it is not the case for Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth who, at the age of 37, is making a comeback into mainstream cricket and dreams to find a spot in India’s squad for the World Cup 2023. Playing his first match after 7 years, he took a wicket for his team Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
In what is being called, ‘an impressive competitive comeback to cricket’, Sreesanth was both lethal and economical. He took one wicket in the four overs that he bowled, giving away only 29 runs.
A brilliant comeback wicket for Sreesanth:
What a delivery from Sreesanth ?
a comeback ?
What a champion ? pic.twitter.com/7ccHDcVng0— cricket videos (@middlestump5) January 11, 2021
The match was between Kerala and Pondicherry. Coming on to bowl in the third over of the match, Sreesanth faced opening batsman Farid. In the very second delivery, the veteran pacer rattled the top of off stump and sent the set batsman back to the pavilion. It was Sreesanth’s second over. Farid was thus dismissed for 10 runs.
Sreesanth’s fixing scandal:
Not long ago, Sreesanth was a household name in Indian cricket. The pacer was regularly selected in Indian National Team’s playing 11, especially in test cricket. However, that cursed incident of 2013, changed everything. That was the start of the downfall of the once a great player. The betting incident of 2013 had a huge negative impact on the entire cricket scenario of India. Three players of the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, namely Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan, and Ajit Chandila, were evicted of fixing. Sreesanth was obviously the most known face among these three. Apart from the players, the then Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra, and all the co-owners of Chennai Super Kings were also charged with legal cases for fixing.
This incident caused the two IPL franchises- Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals to face a two-year ban. Whereas all the others had negligible or minor impacts of this incident on their day-to-day lives, Sreesanth faced the most severe blow. He was banned from playing cricket for 7 long years. However, the Supreme Court has now freed Sreesanth from all the charges levied against him. And has announced those charges to be false accusations. It is now clear that Sreesanth was used as a scapegoat in the entire incident.
Sreesanth has finally made a comeback after 7 years:
After being cleared of all chances, the veteran pacer got selected in Kerala’s team for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and got a wicket in his very first match. In a video recording of the wicket that got viral on Twitter, it can be clearly seen how Sreesanth got emotional after taking his first wicket after 7 years. It was a very special moment for him.
Pondicherry scored a mere 138/6 in their 20 overs. Coming on to chase, Kerala sealed the victory convincingly, surpassing the target with two overs to go, and won the match by 6 wickets. Sreesanth’s economic spell was one of the big factors that lead Kerala to victory. The team will now look to extend their winning run in the upcoming match.
