Sreesanth, the man who won’t quit!
A story of glory, fall and comeback.
Sreesanth, the most capped Malayalee Indian cricketer is one of only 7 Indian cricketers who were part of India’s 2 World Cup-winning teams. He was celebrated for his flamboyance, speed, consistency and the aggression he wore on his sleeves. But in 2013, a spot-fixing accusation took Sreesanth away from the game he loved for 7 whole years. Given a clean chit in 2019, Sreesanth is now eyeing a comeback to play for India again and be a spearhead of the pace attack for India and help his country win the 2023 World Cup which will be hosted by India.
Glory
As a Malayalee, I was always super proud of Sreesanth. My favourite memory of him is the 2007 T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia. His fierce bowling that knocked over the stumps of 2 legends — Hayden and Gilchrist, set the stage for India to win that crucial encounter against the mighty Aussies. Being a young schoolboy back then, I vividly remember jumping around the house in excitement when Andre Nel, the South African bowler was hit for a huge six by Sreesanth as a response for being sledged by the South African pacer and then Sreesanth celebrated waving his bat as he ran towards the non-striker’s end. I was confused when I saw him cry after a Kings XI Punjab v/s Mumbai Indians game. Being a Malayalee who has always been an extremely loyal Mumbai Indians fan since the beginning of the IPL, I couldn’t comprehend my emotions after that game. But Sreesanth publicly reiterated how much respect he had for Bhajji and continued to deliver stellar performances for the different teams he played for in those years of Sreesanth’s prime.
Fall
I was on a train to Vellore for my engineering entrance examinations when I heard about the Spot Fixing controversy. I was shocked, just like all of Kerala and a lot of India. We couldn’t accept that something like this is possible in cricket in our country. Yet again I was confused because all I saw were random journalists throwing stones at Sreesanth on TV. I did hope that somebody whom I trusted in the cricketing world would publicly make a statement about the issue, but considering the sensitivity and the ability of many in the media industry to twist every word spoken, all of the legends remained silent. All we heard amidst a barrage of accusations were Sreesanth’s lone voice — his plea of innocence. I wanted to believe Sreesanth, but being so far away from the dressing room and the stadium, there was no way I could know for sure what the actual truth was. But many around me believed all the accusations and accused Sreesanth to have actually committed the crime. They quickly forgot that tense moment in the 2007 T20 World Cup final where Sreesanth held his nerve, and gifted glory to our country by holding his nerve under the pressure of the entire nation to take that catch of Misbah-Ul-Haq. All of those wickets, all of those fiery spells, all of that fire was all forgotten. A few empathized with Sreesanth’s struggle, his pain of being forced out of the game that was his life for 7 whole years. But truly, none of us can ever fathom the mental battle Sreesanth would have fought to live through these 7 years. From police stations to multiple courts, from the film industry to reality shows, from frustration to spiritual self-awareness Sreesanth struggled through those 7 years, always keeping alive his dream of playing for his country again. With his ban lifted, his dream is no longer an impossible fantasy.
Come Back?
Sreesanth is 37 years old. Dale Steyn, Lasith Malinga, James Anderson are all pace bowling legends who are of the same age group as Sreesanth. All of them have played continuously since they debuted but are now retired from at least one format of the game. Though analysts might rule Sreesanth out, the fire in Sree’s words when he was addressing an online audience in an interview hosted by Sports Exotica, India’s first sports leisure start-up, tells the world that ‘the Sreesanth tale’ is far from over. Throughout the entire interview, he paid his respects to the seniors and gave hope and direction to the youngsters to overcome all the hurdles in front of them as they start their careers. He spoke of the might of effort in chasing dreams and asked everybody to commit and outwork themselves to realize their goals, irrespective of their age, circumstances or any discrimination. He emphasized the importance of visualization, routines and belief to manifest those dreams in your life.
Not many in India would put Sreesanth and spirituality in the same sentence. What Indian cricket fans remember is the aggression, the dance moves and the eliteness in Sreesanth’s bowling. But the 37-year-old Sreesanth has gone through so much struggle and evolved to be a driven man who wants to leave a legacy with his game, to do all he can to continue his dream of winning games for his country. For me, a 25-year-old dreaming about playing cricket at the higher levels, this conversation between Sreesanth and Sports Exotica founders was a wake-up call to reality. Sreesanth reminded cricket fans of the extremely important fact that the game is never over till the last ball is bowled!
When Sreesanth was asked about his best spell so far during that conversation, he said that no footage in YouTube of his own bowling impresses him anymore. He promised the audience that his best is yet to come. With the rest of Kerala, I too await the next chapter of Sreesanth’s story — his dream of a Ranji trophy championship for Kerala and a third World Cup title. Irrespective of how the rest of his life is scripted, Sreesanth will take the responsibility to play a massive role in leading Kerala into international cricket’s future. With visionaries like Sreesanth in the front, the drought of Indian cricketers from God’s own country will soon be over.
