S Sreesanth has made his return to competitive cricket. At present, he is playing in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2021, representing Kerala team. The right-armer picked up the wicket of Fabid Ahmed on his comeback game against Puducherry in the Elite Group E.
Sreesanth was banned by the Board of Contol for Cricket in India (BCCI) in August 2013 for his alleged involvement in the infamous spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, last year, Sreesanth’s lifetime ban was reduced to seven years, which ended in September 2020.
Meanwhile, fans have noticed that Sreesanth is playing with a jersey number of 369 in SMAT 2021, not in his regular jersey of 36.
In an interview with ETV Bharat, Sreesanth has revealed the reason behind it. The right-handed bowler said that he changed his jersey number because of his daughter’s birth date, who was born on May 9. Sreesanth further added that his wife Bhuvneshwari Kumari is called ‘Nayan’ at home, which sounds like nine.
“This time I will be wearing jersey number 369 instead of 36. 9 because my daughter Srisanvika was born on May 9. Srisanvika means Lakshmi. Everyone knows my wife is called at home ‘Nayan’. So it sounds like 9. This is the reason I have decided to wear jersey number 369,” said Sreesanth.
Coming to the question of playing for India again, the speedster said that his goal is to return in the first-class cricket to assist the Kerala side win the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Trophy, but he would love to represent his country once again.
“Everyone wants to play for the country. It is a different feeling. I want to return with long hair and better fitness. My goal is to start with first-class cricket, and it is going to start very soon, maybe in September or October. All I want is to help Kerala to win the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Trophy. If I get to play for India again in that way, then that would be great,” added Sreesanth.
