Daijiworld Media Network - Kochi
Kochi, Sep 13: Sunday September 13 was a special day for cricketer S Sreesanth. After seven long years, the ban imposed on him by the BCCI was finally lifted on this day, and now the pacer is all geared up to step on to the turf once more.
For Sreesanth, it is akin to a bird freed from a cage. In an interview to The Times of India (ToI), the relieved cricketer said, "I have got freedom, freedom to play again. It's a massive relief. I don't think anyone else will understand what it means to me."
In a tweet on September 10, Sreesanth expressed his eagerness to play the sport once more. "I’m completely free of any charges nd anything nd now gonna represent the sport I love the most.will give my very best to every ball I ball even it’s just practice.just have another 5 to 7 years max to give it all I’ve got nd I will give the very best to any team I play (sic)," he tweeted.
However, though Sreesanth is raring to go, coronavirus has played the spoilsport. Sreesanth is quite disappointed that his ban has ended at a time when there is no activity in domestic cricket due to the pandemic.
"After a long wait, I can play again but there is no place to play in the country now," he said, adding that even though he had planned to organise a local tournament in Kochi just to get some practice, he decided against it due to health and safety concerns.
Sreesanth, who has 87 test wickets in his kitty, hopes that the BCCI would hold at least a few domestic cricket matches not just for his sake but also for other cricketers whose livelihoods depend on the game.
Sreesanth, now 37, is at an age where most cricketers are past their prime and decide to hang up their boots. When he realized that domestic cricket in India would not happen this year, he was 'shattered'. Even though the thought of retirement did cross his mind, he decided to instead train harder for a comeback.
"I even thought of quitting the game. But then I thought I wouldn't be doing justice to myself as all the efforts I have made to play the game again for all these years would have gone down the drain," he said.
Sreesanth also revealed that it was his mother, an amputee, who inspired him to persist with his training and never to give up. "She asked me not to give up and I promised her I won't."
In an interview to CricTracker, Sreesanth said that he would put his name in the next IPL auction. "I will play for whatever team I get picked. But, as a cricket fan, it’s Men In Blue Mumbai Indians, because of Sachin Paaji, I played cricket to meet Sachin Tendulkar. If I get an opportunity to play for Mumbai Indians, why not, it will be a great thing to learn from Sachin paaji from dressing room," he said.