S Sreesanth - A look into the profile of the controversies child

S Sreesanth – A look into the profile of the controversies child:

Personal life –  

It was really sad day for cricket when ‘Gopu’ broke into tears following the infamous clash with Harbhajan Singh who slapped across his face in the inaugural season of the IPL. Gopu is an affectionate nickname for Shantakumaran Sreesanth. He is however, popularly known as ‘Sree’. S Sreesanth was born on February 6, 1983 to Shanthakumaran Nair and Savithri Devi at Kothamangalam in Kerala. He has two elder sister and an elder brother who owns a music company in Kochi and his brother-in-law, Madhu Balakrishnan, is a well-known South Indian playback singer. S Sreesanth too loves to dance and often participates in dance-shows.

S Sreesanth has displayed his dancing skill on cricket grounds as well. The Test series of 2006-07 between India and South Africa is often remembered for his hilarious steps on the ground. It was Andre Nel, a fast bowler from South Africa, who bowled a dot ball to S Sreesanth and the two exchanged advice after that. In reply to Nel’s words, he smashed the next ball for six and celebrated his shot in his own style, dancing all the way to non-striker’s end.

On the silver screen –

The renowned film director Sana Yadireddy went a step further saying “S Sreesanth is not only a good dancer but also a superb actor”. Yeddy decided to project S Sreesanth as a hero in his upcoming big-budget movie. The movie is based on a spicy story of cricket the IPL (Indian Premier League). The film is expected to be featured on the big screen in 14 Indian languages, in March 2016. He is playing a negative role in Pooja Bhatt’s bollywood film ‘Cabaret’.

Cricket Career –

During his childhood, S Sreesanth imitated the bowling action of India’s wicket-taking machine Anil Kumble that pushed him to start his career as a leg spinner. Fortunately Anil Kumble became his Test skipper. Nevertheless, S Sreesanth cultivated a habit of bowling yorker length and that caused him to alter his dream of becoming a spinner and started practicing fast bowling. As he changed his action, he changed his role model as well. Now he began to imitate the footstep of Kerala fast bowler Tinu Yohana.

He was selected for the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai; later he was selection in his home team against Goa in 2002-03 which marked his first class debut. S Sreesanth did not miss the golden opportunity to prove his capabilities as a fast bowler and grabbed 22 wickets in the series of seven matches. His wonderful performance drew the attention of selectors and was selected for South Zone in Duleep Trophy squad.

Watch: S Sreesanth at his prime demolishes Gilchrist and Hayden

Following Duleep Trophy, the selectors sent S Sreesanth an India A call-letter to join their side against visiting New Zealand team at Rojkot. In a Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh, he took a hat-trick which went into the record book as he became the first Kerala bowler to take a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy. Later India B invited him to play for their side in the Challenger Trophy of 2005 where he became the man of the series.

These performances opened the door for selection in the national team and he was picked for the ODI series against Sri Lanka at home. In this tournament he proved to be very expensive as Lankan legends Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakara knew his weakness and punished him in the opening match of the series. He was dropped from the playing XI and recalled for fifth, sixth and seventh match. His show in the series failed to convince the selectors and he was dropped from the squad for the upcoming series against South Africa.

S Sreesanth however earned back a place for India’s tour to Pakistan. He claimed 4 wickets in the last match of the tournament in Karachi. His career best 6/55 came in the series against England in April 2006 where he grabbed 10 wickets at an astonishing average of 16.3. In the series S Sreesanth was selected to represent India in Tests as well.

5 feet and 11 inch tall S Sreesanth has taken 87 Test wickets in 27 Tests and 75 ODI wickets in 53 games. Notably, his ODI bowing average is 33.44 and Test bowling average is 37.59.

The IPL spot fixing spot –

Rajsthan Royals bought him in the auction in the sixth IPL season of 2013. On May 16 he was taken into custody along with two other Rajsthan Royals’ players by the Delhi police accusing them of being involved in spot fixing. According to police he initially confessed to the acquisition but later maintained he was innocent and that he was forced to sign the confession statements by the police. S Sreesanth remanded by the police in custody for five days.

As per police report, he was under influence of liquor at the time of his arrest and thought he was being arrested for over drinking. Police also reported that he was found with a girl in a five-star-hotel. Later S Sreesanth was banned for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). With 3 cricketers, the police a;sp arrested 11 other bookies and reportedly Sreesanth’s cousin Jiju Janardhan who was also a key figure in the fixing.

In a media conference the police played some video clips and read out transcripts of conversations between the cricketers and bookies. According to the then Delhi Police commissioner Niraj Kumar, S Sreesanth agreed with the bookies for a pre-determined run over and allegedly received 40 lakh for working with the bookies.

After life –

Come March 2015 and S Sreesanth was given clean-chit pertaining to IPL spot fixing charges by a Delhi Court. News reports came that S Sreesanth along with the two other accused was in tears in front of the judge in the Patiyala House Court. “I am very happy at the moment and I hope that the BCCI will relax the ban and give me the permission to start using the training facilities so that I can get fit and get into the selection process”, he was quoted saying during an interaction with media after clearing the case.

The next day he reached a local cricket ground of Kochi during practice session where he received a round of applause by his fans. His Coach, who was very excited to see him back, played his first few balls in the net. Days after his exoneration in the fixing case, a Kerala government body opened all doors for S Sreesanth to practice in its cricket stadiums. But the BCCI has shown no sign of relaxing the life time ban imposed on him.

S Sreesanth is still eying a return in the national team while Delhi police have indicated that they would drag the case to the higher court. For now, S Sreesanth has received a positive response from his fans and a thumps-up from Kerala Cricket Board. He is also exploring the other side of his life in film industries and has featured on the famous reality show of India Jhalak Dikhala Jaa. He believes it was the worst phase of his life, the time he spent behind the bars during the course of investigation. The long and the short of the story is he has been declared innocent by an Indian court. And who knows we might soon see the aggressive S Sreesanth running all over again.

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