India fast bowler S Sreesanth, who is now acquitted of all match-fixing charges by the Supreme Court, has revealed startling details of his hatred for three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champion Chennai Super Kings.
Sreesanth had a controversial career in the IPL, which was marred by slap gate controversy involving Harbhajan Singh, a rumoured rift with Rajasthan Royals’ coach Paddy Upton and match-fixing charges which led to him getting a life ban from competitive cricket.
In his autobiography, Upton had claimed that Sreesanth abused him, for not being picked in a match against CSK.
Recently while talking to the Indian Express, Sreesanth denied all such allegations and said that he wanted to play the match because of his dislike towards the CSK franchise.
“Mr. Upton, touch your heart and touch your kid’s heads, did I ever abuse you either during India team or in IPL? I want to ask the legend Rahul Dravid, someone whom I respect and love, when did I ever fight with him? When did I abuse with him the way Upton said in his book?” he said.
Sreesanth’s hatred towards CSK
“I requested Upton many times to let me play that game – only because of my history with CSK and because I wanted to defeat them. He made it out differently that I wanted to play as if for fixing. Everybody knows how much I hate CSK, I don’t have to say. People might say because of MS Dhoni or N Srinivasan sir or whatever but that’s not the truth; I just hate the yellow colour. I hated Australia for the same reason. Most importantly, I have done extremely well against CSK that’s why I wanted to play,” Sreesanth added.
The 36-year-old went on to say that the allegations on him were worse than the torture he received in the jail.
“That allegation that I abused the two was the most disappointing. That was bigger than torture by police. That thing still hurts. Other players would talk about Upton, “Yeh kaun hai bey, Kirsten sab kuchh karte hain (who is this guy, Kirsten does everything).’ Have I ever behaved like that with him? I really hope your book sells more because you seem so desperate,” the cricketer-turned-actor further said.
