India cricketer S Sreesanth’s seven-year ban period has come to an end, on Sunday (September 13). The speedster is now eligible to play professional cricket from the very next day. He is also free to take mentorship roles or commentary duty in the future.
Sreesanth was handed a lifetime ban for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the ban was reduced to seven years by the BCCI Ombudsman, Justice (Retd.) DK Jain, in August 2019.
“I’m completely free of any charges nd anything nd now gonna represent the sport I love the most.will give my very best to every ball I ball even it’s just practice.just have another 5 to 7 years max to give it all I’ve got nd I will give the very best to any team I play,” tweeted Sreesanth a couple of days ago, on Friday.
I’m completely free of any charges nd anything nd now gonna represent the sport I love the most.will give my very best to every ball I ball even it’s just practice.just have another 5 to 7 years max to give it all I’ve got nd I will give the very best to any team I play
— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) September 10, 2020
Bhuvneshwari, Sreesanth’s wife, was also elated over the latter’s completion of the ban period. She took to Twitter and wrote: “Three things cannot be long hidden: “The Sun, the moon, and the truth. Om Shanti”.
Three things cannot be long hidden :
The Sun ,the moon, and the truth.
Om Shanti 😇 pic.twitter.com/ykaxbmaeSu— Bhuvneshwari Sreesanth (@Bhuvneshwarisr1) September 12, 2020
‘I don’t think anyone else will understand what it means to me’: Sreesanth
The 37-year-old fell short of words to describe his emotions as he stated that no one would understand the feeling of staying away from cricket for seven long years.
“I have got freedom, freedom to play again. It’s a massive relief. I don’t think anyone else will understand what it means to me,” Sreesanth told Times of India.
The World Cup-winning pacer has earlier expressed his desire to resume the domestic career for home state, Kerala. Sadly, domestic cricket still waits for its resumption in the wake of the coronavirus.
Sreesanth further revealed that he even considered retirement after reading reports regarding the suspension of 2020-21 domestic season by the BCCI.
“From last May, I have put my heart and soul into the training looking forward to playing again. So when I read reports suggesting that the domestic cricket in India may be a non-starter this season, I was shattered. I even thought of quitting the game. But then I thought I wouldn’t be doing justice to myself as all the efforts I have made to play the game again for all these years would have gone down the drain,” Sreesanth added.
