I was about to announce retirement: S Sreesanth after Supreme Court's decision to revoke ban

It was a huge relief for former India pacer S Sreesanth as the Supreme Court revoked on Friday the life ban that was imposed on him by the BCCI. The court also asked the board to decide all over again the quantum of punishment given to the pacer within three months. The Kerala cricketer was banned in the wake of a spot-fixing scandal in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sreesanth had moved several courts since then but could not succeed in convincing the BCCI. Even his wife had written to the board claiming Sreesanth to be innocent. The Supreme Court has also said that its ruling will have no effect on the criminal proceedings pending against Sreesanth in the Delhi High Court where the local police have challenged a trial court’s order discharging the accused in the IPL spot-fixing case, including Sreesanth, member of two world title-winning Indian squad.

The apex court’s bench passed this order on Sreesanth’s plea, challenging the decision of a division bench of the Kerala High Court which had restored the life ban that was imposed on him by the Indian cricket board. An ecstatic Sreesanth spoke after the Supreme Court’s verdict came out and thanked his lawyers Salman Khurshid and Rebecca John for their support to him in the case.

The 36-year-old, who has tried hands in politics and films in between, even said that he was about to announce his retirement as per reports in News 18. Sreesanth played for India between 2006 and 2011 and took 169 international wickets. His last appearance was in a Test match against England in August 2011.

Sreesanth claimed a bookie tried to drag him into fixing but couldn’t

Last month, the cricketer also told the apex court that he had ‘stubbornly’ refused to be involved in fixing during the 2013 IPL and referred to the transcript of a taped conversation to prove his point. In his last hearing, Sreesanth had told the court that a bookie tried to drag him into the scandal but failed in the attempt.

“I need cricket back, I do not think it will take BCCI 90 days to make the decision but I am grateful that the life ban has been removed. I fought my battle all by myself. My practice is going on and the road ahead totally depends on the selectors,” Sreesanth told reporters after the verdict.

“It was a huge fight and the Supreme Court has given me a lifeline. There were so many opportunities where I was even going to announce my retirement, but thank god I didn’t. I have started staying fit to play the game, thanks to the T20 and T10 leagues, I can still earn my bread and butter somewhere,” he said.

“I am not bothered by my fitness as I am inspired by Leander Paes and Ashish Nehra, they both kept on playing even after reaching the age of 36. I just hope BCCI does not announce their decision on the 90th day, I hope they do it in a couple of weeks time,” Sreesanth said.

[interaction id=”5c86622ff115e0e881e102f8″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.