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S Sreesanth begs for a chance

S Sreesanth feels he still has a few years of cricket left in him, appeals to BCCI to facilitate return.

Sreesanth, IPL, S Sreesanth, S Sreesanth IPL spot fixing, S Sreesanth fixing, S Sreesanth ipl fixing, fixing IPL, ipl spot fixing S Sreesanth, S Sreesanth India, India S Sreesanth, S Sreesanth India, Cricket News, Cricket A relieved Sreesanth is eager to get back into practice. (Source: Praveen Khanna)

Inside court No. 25 at Delhi’s Patiala House, fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, one of the three cricketers to be charge-sheeted in the IPL spot-fixing and betting case, looked tense as the order of framing charges was being read out. Sporting a mop of unkempt hair, and dressed in an informal black shirt, he had mostly kept to himself since arriving at the court before noon. At 4:30 pm Sreesanth let his emotions get the better of him as Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna pronounced the order. “All are discharged from the case,” the judge stated.

Sreesanth broke down on hearing the court order. He buried his face in his hands but the media glare didn’t allow him a moment of privacy. Tears had rolled down Sreesanth’s face on previous occasions too during the hearing of the case, but on Sunday there was an unmistakable look of relief on his face. Ajit Chandila, the off-spinner, and left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan, two of the co-accused, came forward and hugged the former India fast bowler.

“Justice has prevailed,” the 32-year Sreesanth said while sobbing inconsolably. As his friends queued up to congratulate him, Sreesanth said: “The last two years have been terrible for me… but I’m pleased and want to return to cricket. I have no complaints against the BCCI or anyone else.”

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However, Sreesanth — who has been banned for life by the Indian cricket board — will not be able to return to cricket as of now.

Shortly after the court order, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated in a release: “Any disciplinary proceeding or decision taken by the BCCI is independent to any criminal proceeding and has no bearing. The decisions of the BCCI, based on its independent disciplinary action, shall remain unaltered.”

Festive offer

The Rajasthan Royals trio — Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan — were arrested by the Delhi Police in May 2013 for alleged betting and spot-fixing. The BCCI had banned Sreesanth and Chavan for life, while Chandila’s case is pending before the BCCI’s disciplinary panel.

Later on Saturday evening, Sreesanth said that all he wanted was to be allowed to practice at the net facilities of the BCCI. “The two years that I have lost can’t be given back to me but my only request now is that more years are not taken away from me. I believe that I have about six years of cricket in me of which I still have the potential to play for three to four years for India. I am requesting for permission to start practising. It is upto the BCCI to decide on my future,” he said.

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Reacting to the court’s decision, Chandila said the period following the spot-fixing scandal was “the worst in my life”. The off-spinner expressed relief at the court’s verdict and said this was his “punarjanm” (rebirth).

Chavan also eyed a return to action. “Right now I am looking forward to playing cricket. I am taking it step by step. It was a tough time but I got through with support from family and friends. It has come as big relief for me. I have never experienced such tense moments in life as I did when the judge was reading out the order. When the judge said that we were all discharged, I felt like I was out of coma. The last two years have been tough. I never thought that I will go to jail and my family will have to suffer this,” he said. Chavan had to undergo a stint in prison, like Sreesanth and Chandila, and recalled how time had almost stood still during the past two years.

“When I was in jail a minute felt like an hour. Those were the darkest days of my life. I hope nobody has to go through this. Initially, my family stopped watching cricket once I was back home because they felt it would upset me. I used to cry during the night and sometimes get nightmares that I was in jail and would wake up sweating.”

Chavan, however, is relieved now. “It was hard because I didn’t have a job and was married. But now it is a relief because the ‘fixer’ tag is off my back.”

‘Nothing unusual, nothing suspicious’

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Senior counsel Pinaki Misra’s argument that there was nothing unusual about S Sreesanth’s second over in Rajasthan Royals’s game against Kings XI Punjab on May 9, 2013, was one which picked holes in Delhi’s Police’s charge that the fast bowler was signalling to the bookies and had agreed to concede 14 or more runs in the over.

# Misra argued before the additional sessions judge Vinay Kumar Khanna that Sreesanth was one of the best strike bowlers and was not a ‘containing bowler’.

# He  said that it was not unusual for Sreesanth to leak runs because he has a high economy rate.

# There was also nothing suspicious about the fifth delivery that Kings XI captain Adam Gilchrist pulled for a four, Misra stated. “That particular delivery was bowled at around 135 kmph. Only a batsman of the calibre of Gilchrist, who is an excellent puller and hooker of the cricket ball, would have been able to score a four off that ball. Sreesanth is really quick so it was an exceptional shot rather than a poor ball.”

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# Misra told the court that the “unique signals” that police say Sreesanth gave bookies — tucking the towel and taking time to warm up — were not really unusual, and submitted pictures of other players on the field, including Rahul Dravid, with towels tucked in.

# Incidentally, there were two dot balls in the first four deliveries bowled by Sreesanth and he conceded one run less than the 14, which police alleged he had agreed to give away.

(Inputs from Devendra Pandey)

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First uploaded on: 26-07-2015 at 01:53 IST
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