'I literally went to hell and came back' - Sreesanth recounts his struggles during depression

Sreesanth is all set to make a grand comeback after more than seven years. He last played professional cricket back in 2013 during the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was then banned after being accused of spot-fixing. However, after being cleared of the charges, the BCCI reduced the ban on him which is set to end in September this year.

But it wasn’t easy for the Kerala pacer during those times. Though he acted in films for his bread and butter he always missed the game. He also appeared in the reality show Bigg Boss hosted by film star Salman Khan. Even before that, after being arrested and during the investigation, Sreesanth went through a lot and ended up being depressed.

While talking to host Adarsh Raman in a live Instagram session with CricTracker, the 37-year-old recalled the tough times and admits that he wasn’t in a good state at all. “‘I went through very bad stage of depression, I was in a very bad state. I literally went to hell and came back, except death everything happened,” Sreesanth said.

I wasn’t allowed to perform in Sharjah as a filmstar

Sreesanth forayed in some of the movies in the past seven years. But the tag of a ‘fixer’ was still not going away from him despite the charges being removed. Rather he was even banned from performing at Sharjah stadium when he was supposed to do so a filmstar. He also added that his family also had a tough time along with him and they didn’t even go temple due to fear.

“It was very tough for my family, we didn’t even go to temples. I wasn’t even allowed to perform at Sharjah stadium as a filmstar. There was a lot of struggle,” the pace bowler further added. However, putting the dreaded past behind, Sreesanth is training hard now to maintain his fitness ahead of the domestic season. He has been picked in Kerala’s Ranji probables and is keen on getting back to the field as and when possible.